Rungrawee “Legatron” Sitsongpeenong fights for the vacant ONE Lightweight Kickboxing World Title against Regian “The Immortal” Eersel at The Inner Circle on April 10, live from Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
But before one of the sport’s most experienced strikers steps into the biggest fight of his career, there’s the story of where that nickname came from and why it fits so perfectly.
Rungrawee was training at Sitsongpeenong when the son of the gym’s owner noticed something in the way the 5-foot-10 southpaw threw his left kick. He happened to be deep into the Transformers franchise at the time. The connection between those devastating legs and the destructive power of a giant robot was impossible to ignore.
The name “Legatron” was born — a mashup of “Leg” and “Megatron” — right as Rungrawee was preparing to launch his ONE Championship career in early 2023.
“I got the name from the son of my gym boss, Mr. Tim. He saw how powerful my left kick was. 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,” Rungrawee said.
“He asked me what I wanted my nickname to be, and I told him, ‘I don’t know, you pick!’ So he chose ‘Legatron.’ That was right when I started fighting in ONE, around early 2023.”
Rungrawee explains how his kicks became his trademark weapon
Rungrawee Sitsongpeenong didn’t start out as a leg kick specialist. The transformation came through advice, necessity, and an extraordinary volume of competition, including nearly 30 fights in China where his leg kicks became the weapon they are today.
Legends at Sitsongpeenong guided that evolution deliberately. Saenchai and Khem Sitsongpeenong both told him that clinch-only fighters struggled against taller international opponents, and that heavy kicks suited his body type perfectly. He listened, and the rest followed.
Across 206 career fights and 158 victories, “Legatron” became more than a nickname. It became a warning. But the man behind it stays grounded about what the name actually means.
“I actually started out as a knee fighter. But legends like Saenchai and Khem Sitsongpeenong told me I needed to add kicks to my game, especially for fighting internationally against taller guys,” Rungrawee Sitsongpeenong said. “Heavy kicks just worked perfectly with my body type, and it’s been a huge advantage ever since.
“About 10 years ago when I started focusing on them. It really developed when I went to fight kickboxing in China. I fought nearly 30 fights there. The more I used my kicks, the more fans started to associate them with me. Now, it’s just part of who I am.”