Jacob Smith believes 'speed and hunger' will be his trump card over Rodtang at ONE 169

(From left) Jacob Smith and Rodtang Jitmuangnon in action at ONE 157.
(From left) Jacob Smith and Rodtang Jitmuangnon in action at ONE 157.

British slugger Jacob Smith has come a long way since suffering a debut defeat at the hands of Rodtang Jitmuangnon in May 2022. He's ready to prove that when he runs it back alongside 'The Iron Man' on November 8.

The Liverpool native will attempt to secure the Thai's coveted ONE flyweight Muay Thai world title at ONE 169, the promotion's next American primetime showcase from the revered Lumpinee Stadium.

Though he refuses to bite more than he can chew, the Bad Company and Thai Fist martial artist sees a couple of areas where he can trouble the Jitmuangnon Gym man when they lock horns in Bangkok, Thailand.

Speaking exclusively to Sportskeeda MMA, Jacob Smith said:

"I'm not going to say that I'm better than Rodtang at this, that, or the other. I would say my advantages over him would be speed and hunger and just being as strong as him."

Jacob Smith vs Rodtang will serve as the co-main event of ONE 169. In the night's headline attraction, three-division MMA king Anatoly Malykhin defends his ONE heavyweight world title against Senegalese star 'Reug Reug' Oumar Kane.


Jacob Smith says there's no weakness in 'rock solid' Rodtang

Though he will be banking on his relentless pace and appetite to pull one back over the ONE flyweight Muay Thai world champion at ONE 169, Smith admits it'll be far easier said than done.

In the same interview with Sportskeeda, the 32-year-old Liverpudlian even acknowledged that he does not see any flaws in Rodtang's near-perfect arsenal:

"His strengths are that he's Rodtang. He's absolutely rock solid. His technical ability is massively underrated. I personally don't feel that he has any weaknesses. He's an absolute killer."

North American fans with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription can catch the entire card live in U.S. primetime for free.

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Edited by C. Naik
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