“There will be a new king” - Jacob Smith vows to end Rodtang Jitmuangnon’s reign as flyweight Muay Thai king at ONE 169
Jacob Smith believes he's destined to dethrone Rodtang Jitmuangnon in Bangkok.
The British slugger will challenge Rodtang for the ONE flyweight Muay Thai world title in the co-main event of the stacked ONE 169 card on Nov. 8 in US primetime at the historic Lumpinee Stadium.
Taking to Instagram, Smith counted down the weeks before his impending world title fight and promised to dethrone Rodtang off the division's top step.
Jacob Smith wrote:
"Two weeks, there will be a new king 👑 #ONE169"
Smith, the number three-ranked flyweight Muay Thai contender, believes he has what it takes to end Rodtang's five-year reign as the ONE flyweight Muay Thai world champion.
The British slugger is already familiar with Rodtang making his ONE Championship debut against the Thai megastar in May 2022 at ONE 157 in Singapore.
Rodtang, though, is the picture of perfection in his world title matches in ONE Championship. 'The Iron Man' is 6-0 in his world title matches in the promotion, with wins over now-ONE bantamweight kickboxing world champion Jonathan Haggerty (twice), Walter Goncalves, Petchdam Petchyindee, former ONE strawweight Muay Thai world champion Joseph Lasiri, and Edgar Tabares.
It will be interesting to see what kind of improvements Smith made since his last matchup against Rodtang over two years ago.
Smith's world title challenge against Rodtang and the entire ONE 169 card are available live and free to all Prime Video subscribers in the United States and Canada.
Jacob Smith adamant he can take flyweight Muay Thai gold from Rodtang at ONE 169
While he's seen as a massive underdog ahead of his first world title challenge, Jacob Smith is adamant that he's worthy of holding the ONE flyweight Muay Thai world championship.
In an interview with Cageside Press, Smith said he holds himself to a high standard and he's ready to prove that he can dethrone Rodtang in Bangkok.
He said:
"I hold [myself to] high standards. So the only pressure I feel is the one I'm putting on myself."