Rodtang Jitmuangnon, the reigning ONE Championship flyweight kickboxing world champion, has broken his silence in a public statement. He recently called out an unnamed individual he claims deceived him into unknowingly authorizing more than 30 official documents.
In a social media post originally written in Thai, the decorated Muay Thai and kickboxing star described reaching a personal breaking point after years of restraint.
“I’ve always been silent out of respect, but since my silence has caused you to drag out your time for this long, I’ve truly reached my limit of feelings and patience,” Rodtang wrote.
He went on to recount being led into a room where a man presented him with what was described as a single piece of paper, supposedly required to confirm his spot in an upcoming tournament. Unable to read the document because it was written in English, Rodtang said he signed in good faith and thought nothing more of it.
“It started unexpectedly. I was in a room when a man walked in with a single piece of paper and told me I had to sign it to secure my place in a boxing tournament. At the time, I believed I had nothing but sincerity. I never got a chance to read or review the paper because I couldn’t read it; it was in English. Due to my naivety and sincerity, I signed it,” Rodtang wrote.
The situation unraveled roughly two years later when he attempted to collect a product and received a call informing him that a contractual clause stood in the way.
Confused and unsettled, Rodtang began pursuing the matter on his own, choosing not to involve legal counsel at first because he regarded the parties involved as personal acquaintances. Each informal attempt to resolve things was met with a rejection.
Eventually, once a lawyer was brought in and a formal meeting was arranged, the full scope of the situation came to light. What Rodtang had believed to be a single signed document had somehow become a collection of more than 30 contracts, all bearing his name.
When pressed directly, the individual at the center of the dispute reportedly acknowledged that he himself had signed the remaining documents.
“I received not just one contract, but over 30, all with my signature. I found this suspicious, so I had my lawyer schedule a meeting with that man. My lawyer asked him who signed the remaining documents. He was a very gentlemanly man and admitted to signing them himself,” Rodtang wrote.
The Thai star was deliberate in framing his disclosure as a pursuit of justice rather than a desire to stir conflict. “I’m not here to argue or have problems with anyone, but since I’ve been treated this way, I just want to fight for what’s right,” he added.
The public statement arrives at a particularly charged moment in Rodtang’s career. According to sources, his contractual standing with ONE Championship has drawn scrutiny following remarks he made suggesting that his April 29 rematch with Japanese kickboxer Takeru Segawa at ONE Samurai 1 in Tokyo would take place outside the terms of his existing deal.
“As everyone knows I’m accepting this match as a one-off, just only for this bout,” Rodtang said at Monday’s press conference in Tokyo. “There might be other organizations that have approached me but I don’t look into them because I just want to focus on this match with Takeru first.”
ONE Championship, however, offered a different account. Sources within the organization, as reported by ONE FC media correspondent Nick Atkin via the Bangkok Post, maintained that Rodtang remains bound to the promotion through a 12-month matching period that came into effect at the conclusion of his previous deal.
That clause reportedly grants ONE Championship the right to match any outside offer presented to him during that window, preventing him from competing elsewhere in the interim. Sources also indicated that Rodtang had agreed to the Takeru rematch before his prior contract formally expired.
The rematch between the two rivals is scheduled as the main event of ONE Samurai 1 at the Ariake Arena in Tokyo, with the ONE interim flyweight kickboxing world title on the line. Their first meeting at ONE 172 in Saitama ended with Rodtang stopping Takeru in the opening round.
