Rodtang Jitmuangnon underestimates no one in the ONE Flyweight Muay Thai World Grand Prix

Rodtang Jitmuangnon may be the reigning ONE flyweight Muay Thai world champion, but he’s not taking the rest of the field lightly.

The Thai megastar will take on Jacob Smith in the quarterfinals of the ONE Flyweight Muay Thai World Grand Prix at ONE 157: Petchmorakot vs. Vienot on Friday, May 20. The event will be broadcast live from the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

During ONE Championship's virtual media day, Rodtang said that he’ll never underestimate Smith or any of the fighters in the tournament.

He added that the seven other fighters in the Grand Prix are not just keen on becoming the overall winner, but are hungry to take a shot at his world title.

Rodtang said:

“I Never underestimate any of the fighters in this tournament and all eight of us fighters want the Grand Prix title. [The other fighters also] have the opportunity to take my belt away [if ever they win the tournament]. So at this moment, I have to focus one fight at a time.”

‘The Iron Man’ is undefeated in all 10 of his Muay Thai and kickboxing matches in ONE Championship. Of those 10 bouts, three were title defenses and one was his successful challenge against former ONE flyweight Muay Thai world champion Jonathan Haggerty.

Although Rodtang is already a legend in the sport, holding a professional record of 267-42-10, that doesn’t mean he’s going to hold back against Smith. The ONE Championship newcomer is hungry for international success after taking over the British regional scene.

Rodtang Jitmuangnon, too, is aware of what Smith is capable of.

“I can’t see any holes yet in his game. It’s the one who makes mistakes who will pay in this fight. He has heavy strikes and punches, same as me, so let’s see who makes the first mistake.”

Rodtang Jitmuangnon has all the praise for Smith

Rodtang Jitmuangnon knows talent when he sees one.

The 24-year-old studied how Smith fights and he has nothing but admiration for the British striker.

He even likened Smith to himself with both of them possessing power and the desire for knocking people out.

“He’s really good in Muay Thai, we looked at his technique and he’s really great. I can really say he’s really good in these rules so it’s gonna be a hard fight for me and a hard fight for him. Both of us are great fighters so the outcome will be a really entertaining fight because we have such an aggressive style. I cannot guarantee the win, and I have to be very careful when fighting him.”

We'll find out whether Smith has what it takes to shock the world when he shares the circle with Rodtang this Friday at ONE 157.