The Terrifying Kicks That Inspired Rungrawee’s ‘Legatron’ Nickname
Rungrawee Sitsongpeenong did not pick his nickname. It was given to him by the son of his gym owner, a Transformers fan who watched one particular left kick land one too many times and could only reach one conclusion.
“Legatron.” Leg plus Megatron. A name born in a training gym in Bangkok that has since followed him across 206 professional fights and onto the biggest stage of his career.
On Friday, April 10, Rungrawee challenges Regian “The Immortal” Eersel for the vacant ONE Lightweight Kickboxing World Title in the main event of The Inner Circle, streaming live for members at live.onefc.com from Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok.
“He saw how powerful my left kick was,” Rungrawee said of the young man who coined the name. “At the time, he was into Transformers movies, so he came up with ‘Legatron.’ It’s basically a mashup of ‘Leg’ and ‘Megatron.’ It fits my aggressive kicking style perfectly.”
The timing of the name was deliberate. It arrived just as Rungrawee was joining ONE Championship in early 2023, a new chapter demanding a new identity. He heard it and immediately knew it was right.
“I loved it immediately,” he said. “It perfectly describes who I am as a fighter — someone with the kicking power of a robot.”
But “Legatron” was not always the plan. Rungrawee began his career as a knee fighter, a clinch-oriented Thai who worked at close range and used his physicality to dominate exchanges. It was the legends around him at Sitsongpeenong who redirected him.
“Saenchai and Khem Sitsongpeenong told me I needed to add kicks to my game, especially for fighting internationally against taller guys,” he said. “If you only try to clinch, you’ll fall behind on points. Heavy kicks just worked perfectly with my body type, and it’s been a huge advantage ever since.”
The transformation was gradual, accelerated by nearly 30 kickboxing fights in China where the repetitions eventually turned a decent kick into a signature weapon. Now it is the thing opponents prepare for most and struggle to solve once the fight begins.
Across his 6-2 ONE record, Rungrawee has beaten everyone placed in front of him during a three-fight promotional winning streak that earned him this title opportunity. Eersel is a different proposition entirely. He’s a six-time ONE Lightweight Kickboxing World Champion with a 13-1 promotional record and the kind of technical depth that has made him one of the most decorated champions in ONE Championship history.
Rungrawee is not underestimating that. He is also not arriving as a grateful participant.
“I’m going to go out there and show everyone why I’m called ‘Legatron,'” he said. “Whether those kicks are enough to win the ONE World Title, we’ll see on fight night. But I promise I’m going to give it everything I’ve got and leave a performance that no one will forget.”
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