UFC legend Demetrious Johnson defeated Rodtang Jitmuangnon in a mixed-rules bout at ONE X, winning by submission at the 2:13 mark of the second round Saturday in Singapore.
The fight between Johnson, one of the greatest MMA fighters of all time, and Rodtang, the ONE flyweight Muay Thai champion, combined the two styles. Rounds 1 and 3 were Muay Thai, and Rounds 2 and 4 were MMA, with three minutes scheduled for each round.
Johnson got Rodtang to the ground one minute into the second frame and quickly took his back before sinking in a rear-naked choke a few moments later that put Rodtang to sleep.
"Nobody remembers your name if you don't take risks," Johnson said in his postfight interview. "I knew (Rodtang) was the hardest-hitting man in this whole entire division."
Rodtang took an early lead in the first round, pressuring Johnson and battering him with hard punches and kicks. Johnson ultimately survived, using the clinch to tie up Rodtang and land a few shots himself.
"The game plan was to move around, draw out that left hook, and hit him with (the right hand)," Johnson said. "But he's got a chin for days. So I told my coach, 'We didn't come over to Singapore to get yellow carded. I'm not going to stall. I want to f------ fight.' ... So that's all I did."
Johnson returns to the win column after suffering his first career knockout loss to Adriano Moraes in a ONE flyweight title fight last April. He joined ONE Championship in 2018 following a seven-year stint in the UFC, where he was the inaugural flyweight champion and broke the record for consecutive title defenses with 11.
"Mighty Mouse" won his first three fights in ONE to claim the Flyweight Grand Prix title before falling to Moraes. The 35-year-old had no previous experience in Muay Thai before Saturday.
Likewise, Rodtang had never competed in any other discipline besides Muay Thai before facing Johnson. He was coming off a win over Danial Williams last April. The 24-year-old has won five fights in a row in Muay Thai and has been the ONE champ since 2019.
