Rodtang Jitmuangnon revealed he has made an “exception” not to fast during Ramadan, with the most important fight of his ONE Championship career looming.
The former flyweight Muay Thai champion is set to take on Japanese icon Takeru Segawa in a kickboxing super fight at Saitama Super Arena on Sunday.
The Thai striking superstar converted to Islam when he married his wife Aida Looksaikongdin in 2023 but has decided against eating only from sunset to sunrise, a practice traditionally observed by Muslims during the holy month.
“This is the Ramadan month as you may know, but since I have a fight this is an exception,” Rodtang told the Bangkok Post in Tokyo this week.
Rodtang has found other ways to pay tribute to his faith this week, and wore a traditional Malay outfit to “represent Muslims” at Monday’s press conference.
He knows he will need every ounce of explosive energy if he is to beat former K-1 champion Takeru in his opponent’s backyard, however.
“In case I train hard, I still can eat something to keep my power and be ready for the fight,” Rodtang added. “Once the fight has ended, I’ll do [fasting] after that.”
Indeed, food has played a central role in Rodtang’s preparations for the fight, in more ways than one.
The 27-year-old “Iron Man” has brought in renowned nutritionist Peter Miller of Condition Nutrition to help him make weight and pass hydration in Japan – having lost his belt on the scale last November.
His ONE 169 scale fail was his second straight weight miss, and a fourth in the last three years, prompting some soul searching – and decisive action.
“Yes, it has been much, much better this time since he [Miller] has helped me prepare and control my nutrition daily,” Rodtang said.
“I have not needed to stop eating food like I did before while I was trying to make weight and pass hydration. This is helping me a lot to prepare before the fight.
“Yes, I’ll maintain this with my nutritionist as Muay Thai is my career – this is what I love, and 100 per cent I’ll keep doing this moving forward.”