Demetrious Johnson Survives ONE X Hybrid Showdown, Beats Rodtang Jitmuangnon

Former UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson gave Thai sensation Rodtang Jitmuangnon a rude awakening as he prevailed in the hybrid mixed martial arts (MMA)-Muay Thai encounter in the co-headliner of ONE X: Grand Finale on Saturday, March 26.

The 35-year-old native of Madisonville, Kentucky sent Rodtang to sleep when he had the game knockout artist in his own world, latching on a fight-ending submission in the second round.

While Johnson made it look easy in pulling off the victory under MMA rules in the aforementioned frame, he had to go through the Muay Thai ruleset in the opening round first and survive.

From the get-go, Johnson felt the power of Rodtang as he opted to have close-quartered exchanges with the dreaded Thai striker, swapping knees and short punches in the first 30 seconds of the exhibition.

As Rodtang became more comfortable having “Mighty Mouse” in the pocket, the American changed it up and tried to create some distance between him and the Muay Thai practitioner.

However, it did not stop Rodtang from inflicting more damage as he stalked Johnson around the cage for the remainder of the period.

When Johnson had Rodtang in the second stanza under MMA rules, the Thai turned from hunter to haunted as the American pressed for action that had his hard-hitting opponent backpedaling away from possible danger.

It did not take too long for Johnson to find the opening to put Rodtang in unfamiliar territory as he scored an effortless takedown and pinned the ONE Muay Thai flyweight champion on the canvas.

From there, Johnson had the opportunity to wrap it up at the 2:13 mark, fastening a rear-naked choke that rendered Rodtang unconscious as the Thai refused to wave the white flag.

Meanwhile, Adriano Moraes successfully defended the ONE flyweight title against Yuya Wakamatsu by submission in the third round.