“There's a little bit of finesse to me” - Jacob Smith believes his striking style is more fluid than Rodtang
British striker Jacob Smith believes he has significantly improved as a fighter since the first time he took on Rodtang Jitmuangnon and vows to showcase it in their rematch set for next month.
The Bad Company affiliate takes another shot at 'The Iron Man,' who dealt him a loss two years ago, in their featured title match at ONE 169: Malykhin vs. Reug Reug on Nov. 8. Smith is out to seize the ONE flyweight Muay Thai world title from the Jitmuangnon Gym standout in the event happening at the Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
Heading into the contest, Jacob Smith admitted to being outperformed by Rodtang in their first encounter, something he does not see happening in their redo as he will be packing a shored-up striking arsenal come fight night.
The Englishman told Violent Money TV in an interview, which was uploaded on Oct. 21:
"I'm super confident. I'm always confident. I always have been. More so, skill, movement, fight IQ, there's a little bit of finesse to me. There's a little bit more why's and when's if that makes sense."
Check out what he had to say below:
Jacob Smith took on Rodtang in his promotional debut on May 20, 2022, at ONE 157 in a flyweight Muay Thai World Grand Prix quarterfinal match. He fought gallantly for the entire three rounds but had a hard time keeping in step with the Thai superstar as he slumped to defeat.
He now looks to redeem himself from everything that went down in the first match at ONE 169.
ONE 169: Malykhin vs. Reug Reug will be aired live and for free in U.S. primetime to North American fans with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription.
Jacob Smith solely focused on Rodtang rematch
While Jacob Smith angles to exact payback on Rodtang Jitmuangnon and seize the ONE flyweight Muay Thai world title at ONE 169: Malykhin vs. Reug Reug on Nov. 8, he is mindful not to overthink things to come up with a great performance come fight night.
He shared this mindset in an interview with Combat Sports Today, highlighting that he is solely focusing on the Rodtang fight itself and what needs to be done, casting the other stuff that comes with it aside.
Jacob Smith said:
"I just think it's a little bit of a waste of mental energy thinking about all the other things that come with it, when at the end of the day, there's no point in thinking about that just yet. Let's just focus on the fight."
Rodtang-Smith II serves as the co-headlining match at ONE 169, which is bannered by the ONE heavyweight MMA championship fight between reigning champion Anatoly Malykhin and challenger Oumar 'Reug Reug' Kane.