All eyes will be on ONE Flyweight Muay Thai World Champion Rodtang Jitmuangnon after ONE Championship announced their next tournament — an eight-man ONE Flyweight Muay Thai World Grand Prix scheduled for next month.
ONE Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong broke the news over the weekend on his social media channels, sparking excitement from striking fans around the world.
“On May 20, ONE will kick off its first-ever world grand prix championship in Muay Thai with the greatest eight man global tournament ever assembled in the history of the sport,” Sityodtong shared.
“Without a doubt, this tournament will break all viewership records ever seen for Muay Thai on the world’s largest stage of martial arts, and ignite the sport to new heights.”
Unlike the previous tournaments, where the winner would get a shot at the World Champion, “The Iron Man” will be joining in on the fun. He aims to hold both the gold and silver belts and cement his status as the undisputed top athlete in the division.
However, his ONE Flyweight Muay Thai World Title won’t be on the line during the Grand Prix, and in the event that he loses, the winner of the tourney will get a shot at him for his belt.
Rodtang opens the tournament against British rising star Jacob Smith in a match that was supposed to happen last year at “ONE on TNT 1.” Smith had to pull out from that event, but he will now get his shot at the Thai superstar in the quarterfinals of the Grand Prix.
Former divisional king Jonathan Haggerty, on the other hand, looks to claw himself back into the title picture when he battles the tough Walter Goncalves.
In the third matchup, it will be a clash between two of the top contenders in the division with #2-ranked Superlek Kiatmoo9 taking on #3-ranked Taiki Naito, while rounding up the bracket is the clash between Savvas Michael and Amir Naseri.
In the meantime, watch ONE: Eersel vs. Sadikovic on One Sports and One Sports+ on Friday, April 22, beginning with the lead card at 5 p.m. The main card broadcasts live at 8:30 p.m.
The full event stream will be available on ONE’s YouTube channel, the ONE Super App, and the ONE Championship Tagalog Facebook page.