Jacob Smith not solely banking on his 'rough and tough' approach in Rodtang rematch: "Better fight IQ and discipline"
Hardy British slugger Jacob Smith has equipped himself with other tools and styles for his rematch against Rodtang Jitmuangnon at ONE 169: Atlanta on November 8.
The Liverpool native meets the Thai megastar for his ONE flyweight Muay Thai world championship, motivated to shock the world and the audience inside the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia.
While pumped to the nines, the 31-year-old knows he cannot solely rely on his usual approach against the ever-dangerous divisional king. As such, Smith vows to showcase new facets of his game.
In an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda MMA, he shared:
"It's going to be the same rough and tough Jacob Smith, but with a far better fight IQ and discipline within the plan. That's all I can say."
Should everything be in place, the Englishman is ready to even the series against Rodtang.
Smith opened his ONE Championship campaign against 'The Iron Man' in a quarterfinal fixture of the ONE Flyweight Muay Thai World Grand Prix back in May 2022.
Despite coming out short against the Jitmuangnon Gym representative, Jacob Smith courageous display and hard-hitting style caught the hearts of many.
The No.3-ranked flyweight Muay Thai contender has since split between a victory and a defeat. He knocked out Walter Goncalves inside the opening round of his sophomore outing but fell to a unanimous decision loss to Denis Puric at ONE Fight Night 21 this past April.
Jacob Smith joins a star-studded cast in Atlanta
Jacob Smith's rematch against Rodtang will be one of four ONE world titles that will be contested on the promotion's third on-ground spectacle in North America.
Tawanchai PK Saenchai puts his featherweight Muay Thai crown on the line against 'Smokin' Jo Nattawut in a trilogy after two closely contested contests over the past 12 months.
In addition, two-division MMA king Christian Lee makes his hotly anticipated return in a lightweight world title defense against Turk phenom Alibeg Rasulov.
ONE 169: Atlanta will be headlined by a ONE heavyweight MMA world title tilt between defending king Anatoly Malykhin and 'Reug Reug' Oumar Kane.
Tickets for ONE 169: Atlanta are available on Ticketmaster.