Rodtang Jitmuangnon might be fresh off his 15th victory as a ONE Championship fighter, but the promotion's Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong already has an idea of who's next for the Thai megastar.
"The Iron Man" turned out a vintage performance at Bangkok's Impact Arena, outpointing heated rival Denis Puric in a non-title flyweight kickboxing bout at ONE 167: Tawanchai v Nattawut II on Saturday.
At the post-fight press conference, Chatri had one name in mind as the ONE flyweight Muay Thai world champion's next foe -- Japanese kickboxing superstar Takeru Segawa.
"I want to do Rodtang v Takeru, 100 percent. I want to do that fight this year. Maybe in Japan, let's see. But I definitely want to do Takeru v Rodtang," he said.
The pair were due to face off in Takeru's ONE debut this past January before Rodtang suffered a hand injury that scuppered the high-profile fight.
ONE flyweight kickboxing world champion Superlek Kiatmoo9 stepped in on short notice to replace Rodtang, and Superlek successfully defended his title in an action-packed unanimous decision victory over Takeru.
Takeru hasn't been seen in action since and, provided that Rodtang has emerged unscathed from his three-round slugfest with Puric, the highly anticipated matchup between Rodtang and Takeru could be restored later this year.
The other question surrounds where the potential fight would take place, and according to Chatri, there is a clear frontrunner.
"I need to sit down with Rodtang and I need to sit down and talk with Takeru, to see when they're going to fight," he said.
"It's such a huge fight for them, and it will definitely be one of the biggest fights in Japan's history, right? So, we want to do that ideally in Japan. But again, there's a lot of moving parts. But yes, if Rodtang is not fighting [in Japan], Americans love Rodtang."
ONE will return to the United States later this year with ONE 168: Denver on Sept 7 followed by ONE 170: Atlanta on Nov 9.
