LAS VEGAS, NV - OCTOBER 06: UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson poses on the scale during the UFC 216 weigh-in inside T-Mobile Arena on October 6, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Brandon Magnus/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
Demetrious Johnson to face Rodtang Jitmuangnon on Dec. 5 in special rules fight
Demetrious Johnson will make his fifth appearance for ONE Championship on Dec. 5 against flyweight muay Thai champion Rodtang Jitmuangnon in a fight that features special rules according to ONE CEO Chatri Sityodtong.
Sityodtong joined Ariel Helwani on Wednesday’s edition of The MMA Hour where he officially announced the ONE X card, which includes the Johnson/Rodtang matchup. The event on Dec. 5 is also set to include two title fights. ONE bantamweight champ Bibiano Fernandes will make his return against UFC veteran John Lineker. In addition to that, ONE featherweight champ Thanh Le will attempt to defend his belt against none other than Garry Tonon — who’s yet to lose since switching to MMA full-time.
Special Rules
The rules for Demetrious Johnson vs Rodtang Jitmuangnon are as follows: Four, three-minute rounds alternating between both muay Thai and MMA. Round one will be muay Thai with four-ounce gloves, which will be worn the entirety of the fight (traditional weight of MMA gloves). They will then switch to MMA for the second round. Then, they’ll transition back to muay Thai for round three, followed by going back to MMA for the fourth and final round.
“Mighty Mouse” last fought back in April when he suffered a TKO defeat at the hands of Adriano Moraes in the ONE flyweight title bout. Prior to that, Johnson had tallied three straight promotional victories in 2019 before not competing last year. Remarkably, he’s only lost twice in 19 tries dating back a decade — and his loss to Moraes was the first time he’d been finished in 35 pro fights.
“The Iron Man” is a 24-year-old muay Thai phenom. Having his first muay Thai fight at the age of eight, Rodtang has already amassed over 200 victories. He made his kickboxing debut earlier this year where he edged out Tagir Khalilov via split decision. Rodtang is expected to face Daniel Puertas on Oct. 15 in a kickboxing bout, which will serve as a tuneup fight ahead of his MMA debut.
Expect more fights to be announced in the coming weeks for this already highly-anticipated ONE X card.
