ONE X: Demetrious Johnson puts Rodtang to sleep with rear-naked choke in frantic special rules fight
- ‘Mighty Mouse’ celebrates wildly after dramatic ONE Championship co-main event on Saturday night in Singapore
- ‘I knew it was going to be hell,’ Johnson says after a tense round of Muay Thai with striking specialist, before finishing things in first of two MMA rounds
Demetrious Johnson did what many suspected he would do in his special rules showdown with Muay Thai champion Rodtang Jitmuangnon in the co-main event of ONE Championship’s 10th anniversary spectacular on Saturday night in Singapore.
With fans welcomed back en masse to the Singapore Indoor Stadium for the first time since the start of the pandemic, the pair met in a frantic bout at the ONE X event which alternated between three-minute rounds of Muay Thai and MMA, starting with the former — Rodtang’s bread and butter.
The legendary former UFC champion survived, and then submitted the Asian martial arts promotion’s flyweight Muay Thai champion in the second round.
“I didn’t come to Singapore to get a yellow card,” he said. “I came to [expletive] fight,” Johnson said in his post-fight interview, adding that he drew inspiration from his long-time training partner, former ONE bantamweight champion and BJJ blackbelt Bibiano Fernandes.
“He’s got a chin,” he added, giving Rodtang respect. “That’s not the first time I’ve fought guys with chins.”