“A fighter who never gives up” - Rodtang Jitmuangnon gets himself mentally ready in world title defense against Jacob Smith
Fight camp is done, and now it's time for Rodtang Jitmuangnon to make his next world title defense. He will defend his ONE flyweight Muay Thai world title against Jacob Smith in the co-main event of the stacked ONE 169 card on Friday, U.S. primetime, at the historic Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
With his hard work in the gym done, Rodtang shared on Instagram his steely mindset ahead of his sixth world title defense.
Rodtang Jitmuangnon wrote:
"Get ready to fight every second in the ring with the heart of a fighter who never gives up! 💪 #ONE169"
Rodtang went through a grueling training camp at the family gym of his wife Aida at Looksaikongdin in Bangkok. Training day in and day out with his brother-in-law, Rodtang developed the weapons that have made him a household name among fight fans.
He's now on a quest to extend his reign that started in August 2019 when he beat current ONE bantamweight kickboxing world champion Jonathan Haggerty in Manila.
Rodtang has since defended the strap five times and held off the challenges of Walter Goncalves, Haggerty, Petchdam Petchyindee, Joseph Lasiri and Edgar Tabares.
'The Iron Man' also holds a win over Smith when he beat the British slugger via unanimous decision in the quarterfinals of the ONE Flyweight Muay Thai World Grand Prix at ONE 157 in May 2022.
ONE 169 is available live and free to all Prime Video subscribers in the United States and Canada.
Rodtang Jitmuangnon tells Jacob Smith to improve his defense for ONE 169
Rodtang Jitmuangnon is all too familiar with Jacob Smith - so much so, that he had some advice for the challenger ahead of their world title clash in Bangkok. In an interview with Sportskeeda MMA, Rodtang said he watched Smith's slugfest with Denis Puric and pointed out that the Bad Company fighter should fix his defense for ONE 169. He said:
"I watched that fight. He was tough as always. It was a great fight. However, I did notice openings and moments he dropped his guard. He’ll need to fix that before our fight because I’ll certainly use what I saw to cause the damage."