Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson expects to engage in a striking war with Rodtang “The Iron Man” Jitmuangnon in the opening round of their special rules contest at ONE X: Grand Finale on Saturday, 26 March.

The American veteran will be cautious when picking his shots against the ONE Flyweight Muay Thai World Champion, though, and he plans to take a page out of boxing legend Muhammad Ali’s book to get him past the opening round.

“It’s like if Bruce Lee was fighting Rodtang, do you think he’d stay right in front of him the whole time and let him take all the shots? Absolutely not. So, do I plan on standing toe-to-toe with Rodtang? Absolutely not. I’m going to look to float like a butterfly and sting like a bee,” the 35-year-old fighter asserted.

The first frame of the four-round fight will be contested under Muay Thai rules, Rodtang’s bread and butter.

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Johnson knows his opponent is one of the finest athletes in the world when it comes to striking, so the best way to minimize the threat is to frustrate him and land combinations only when the opportunity arises.

Demetrious Johnson is not looking for a knockout against Rodtang

It won’t be an easy task, but “Mighty Mouse” is confident he can handle Rodtang’s weapons before the second round – contested under MMA rules – kicks off. However, he played down any predictions of him knocking out the Thai sensation.

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“No, [I don’t see a way to KO him early]. Rodtang has been hit with everything. ‘Mini T’ [Danial Williams] has clipped him. Jonathan Haggerty has clipped him. Everybody he fights, he has been clipped,” Johnson made clear.

“I’ve never been the athlete to go into a fight banking on myself to knock somebody out or submit somebody. I will go in there, and I think to myself, ‘This is going to be a long 12-minute fight.’”

Johnson’s clash against Rodtang will serve as the co-main event of the third part of ONE X on Saturday, 26 March, with “Unstoppable” Angela Lee’s atomweight world title showdown against Stamp Fairtex headlining of the 10-year anniversary spectacle.

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