Jacob Smith lists bonus-winning KO of Walter Goncalves as his favorite fight: "Everything went exactly as planned"
Jacob Smith believes no moment in his career holds a special place in his heart like his epic win over Walter Goncalves at ONE Fight Night 17 in December last year.
The British fighter headed into that contest with his back against the wall after enduring a night to forget in his promotional bow, where he succumbed to Rodtang Jitmuangnon at the quarterfinal stage of the ONE Flyweight Muay Thai World Grand Prix Championship.
Knowing what he needed to do to bounce back, the Liverpool native went back to the drawing board to fix his shortcomings and ensure he brought his A-game into his contest against the Brazilian slugger inside the Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
And he couldn't have executed his game plan any better, seeing off Goncalves inside the 2:54 mark of the opening round off a short elbow and a knee to the midsection. To make matters sweeter, Jacob Smith was rewarded with a US$50,000 performance bonus for his scintillating highlight-reel finish.
During a recent interview with Cageside Press, the Bad Company and Thaifist martial artist explained why the victory is by far his sweetest one yet:
"Well, [my favorite fight] it's gotta be the Walter fight isn't it? Getting that bonus. And, you know, doing exactly as what I said. Everything went exactly as planned."
Unfortunately for the 32-year-old, he failed to maintain his winning ways when he collided with battle-tested veteran Denis Puric at ONE Fight Night 21 this past April.
But as he has done before, Smith is ready to pull all the stops to ensure the outcome of the next fight goes his way.
Watch his full interview with Cageside Press here:
Jacob Smith faces Rodtang for flyweight Muay Thai supremacy at ONE 169
In a matter of weeks, Jacob Smith hopes to bounce back into the winner's column and claim the ONE flyweight Muay Thai world title when he meets divisional king Rodtang Jitmuangnon at ONE 169 inside Bangkok's legendary Lumpinee Stadium.
The Englishman may have only registered one win from three outings thus far, but he's done his part to make each fight an instant classic. Looking at things, this one could be another guaranteed barnburner between two strikers who never take their foot off the gas pedal.
While overcoming Rodtang in their rematch will be far from a walk in the park, Jacob Smith believes he has just the right plan to upset 'The Iron Man' inside the 'Mecca of Muay Thai' on Nov. 8.