"I can hold my head up high" - Jacob Smith proud of how his chin held up against Rodtang's biggest shots in first fight

Jacob Smith takes great pride in withstanding ONE flyweight Muay Thai world champion Rodtang Jitmuangnon's power shots when they fought in the ONE Flyweight Muay Thai World Grand Prix quarterfinals at ONE 157 in May 2022.

Smith said in an interview with the South China Morning Post:

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"The one thing I can hold my head up high about the first fight is that I done exactly what I said I was going to do. I was going to stand in front of him, which I did - like an idiot, by the way. And I didn't move my feet once, I didn't move my head once."

He continued:

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"I stood in front of him with the long guard, and I realized you can't use the long guard as a main defensive tool in 4-ounce gloves. So there's been a lot of changes, adaptions to the defensive game, which will show [this weekend]."

Watch the entire interview:

Though Rodtang defeated Smith then via unanimous decision, the United Kingdom standout will have his shot at revenge when he challenges 'The Iron Man' for the 135-pound Muay Thai crown at ONE 169: Malykhin vs. 'Reug Reug' on Friday, Nov. 8, inside the Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.

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Jacob Smith going for the finish at ONE 169

Jacob Smith believes he can send Rodtang to sleep at ONE 169 should the Thai hero get careless in their rematch.

Speaking with Violent Money TV, Smith said:

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"I'm not one to stand on the backfoot. I'm not one to pin people off. I'll always be hunting for a finish, and if I can smell out the finish, I'll be going for it. But there's just a little bit more finesse as I said again."

Watch the interview:

ONE 169 will air live and free to all Prime Video subscribers in the United States and Canada.

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