“I know Rodtang’s strengths” - Jacob Smith believes he understands ‘The Iron Man’ better after their bloody first encounter

After already going three rounds with Rodtang Jitmuangnon, British standout Jacob Smith feels confident in his ability to leave ONE 169 with 26 pounds of gold around his waist.

Making his promotional debut in May 2022, Smith went toe-to-toe with 'The Iron Man' at ONE 157. On that night, Smith suffered a brutal one-sided loss after absorbing a barrage of brutal elbows from the reigning ONE flyweight Muay Thai world champion.

More than two years later, they'll run it back as ONE Championship delivers one of the most anticipated combat sports events of the year on Friday, Nov. 8.

Speaking with the promotion ahead of their highly anticipated rematch inside the iconic Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Smith believes he's got a good idea of what Rodtang's greatest strengths are and what he can do to stifle them. He said:

“I feel like this time, there are certain things I’ve been working on where I know Rodtang’s strengths more than he knows mine now. Everything is going to be better for me.”

Both Rodtang and Jacob Smith enter ONE 169 after going the distance with Denis Puric

Since coming up short against Rodtang, Jacob Smith has bounced back with a couple of impressive performances, including a vicious first-round knockout over Walter Goncalves at ONE Fight Night 17.

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Smith also went the distance with 'The Bosnian Menace' Denis Puric in April, proving that he can hang with some of the heaviest hitters in the division. That will no doubt come in handy against one of the most destructive strikers in combat sports today.

Rodtang, who will make his first appearance in the art of eight limbs in over a year, is also coming off an impressive performance against Denis Puric and is favored to score another successful Muay Thai title defense against the young and hungry Smith.

Fans in the United States and Canada can watch ONE 169: Malykhin vs. ‘Reug Reug’ live on Amazon Prime Video on Friday, Nov. 8 in U.S. primetime.