British striker Jacob Smith thinks Rodtang Jitmuangnon and Takeru Segawa are in a league of their own.
For years, fight fans have been clamoring to see ‘The Iron Man’ square off with the former three-division K-1 champion on martial arts’ biggest global stage. With both fighters now calling ONE Championship home, their meeting is all but guaranteed and everyone—fighters and fans alike—is chomping at the bit to see how it all plays out.
But first, Rodtang will look to defend his ONE flyweight Muay Thai world championship on Friday, November 8 when he runs it back with Jacob Smith at ONE 169 inside the legendary Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
Speaking with Sportskeeda in an exclusive interview, Smith offered his take on what makes Rodtang and Takeru stand out from the rest of the pack.
“Takeru is more of a volume, combination kinda fighter, proper kickboxer,” Smith said. “Absolutely fantastic. Rodtang, on the other hand, yeah, he’s a combination fighter, but he’s more of a single shot, power, kinda fighter.”
Jacob Smith believes he can learn from his mistakes and take Rodtang’s title at ONE 169
After being bloodied and battered in his promotional debut against ‘The Iron Man’ at ONE 157 in May 2022, Smith will look to take what he learned from that experience and parlay it into the biggest win of his career.
“I’m a lot more well-rounded. So, he’ll feel a lot more of my power this time ’cause I’m going to be in better positions now,” Smith said. “I understand how good he is now. So my calculations are gonna be different too now.”
Since going toe-to-toe with Rodtang, Smith has scored a vicious first-round knockout against Walter Goncalves and he went the distance with ‘The Bosnian Menace’ Denis Puric at ONE Fight Night 21 in April.
Meanwhile, Rodtang has bested Joseph Lasiri and Edgar Tabares since his scrap with Smith.
He also delivered one of the greatest Muay Thai fights of all time, going three rounds with two-sport king Superlek Kiatmoo9 at ONE Friday Fights 34. In June, ‘The Iron Man’ dawned the eight-ounce gloves for a kickboxing clash with the aforementioned Denis Puric.
Will Smith break through and become the new ONE flyweight Muay Thai world champion, or is the British striker nothing more than a pit stop before Rodtang’s inevitable showdown with Takeru?
Fans in the United States and Canada can watch ONE 169 live on Amazon Prime Video on Friday, November 8 in U.S. primetime.
