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Heading into the biggest fight of his career, Jacob Smith is only focused on one thing—getting the win and claiming his first ONE world championship.
Emanating from the iconic Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, Smith will once again square off with the reigning and defending ONE flyweight Muay Thai world champion, Rodtang Jitmuangnon, as the two battle it out as part of a loaded ONE 169 card on Friday, Nov. 8.
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It'll be the second-ever meeting between the two—the first coming in Smith's promotional debut at ONE 157 in 2022. On that night, the Brit suffered a devastating loss after eating a series of brutal elbow strikes from 'The Iron Man' throughout their three-round affair.
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Going into their long-awaited rematch, Smith is putting everything into giving himself the best chance of leaving The Land of Smiles with 26 pounds of gold around his waist. Speaking to Combat Sports Today, Smith said:
"But at the end of the day, mates, all that I'm focused on at the moment is the actual fight, the opponent and the fight, the game plan, stuff like that".
Jacob Smith staying focused on the fight instead of the prize
As excited as Smith is about the prospect of becoming the new ONE flyweight Muay Thai world champion at ONE 169, the Brit is far more focused on the task at hand—beating one of the most dangerous strikers in all of combat sports:
"Let's get the fight done. Let's win the fight, and then the prize will be amazing. But the prize is fantastic and could be life-changing for my family. But there's no point in thinking about that. Let's just focus on the opponent and the fight, winning the fight, that's it."
As they say, to the victor goes the spoils.
Will Smith score perhaps the biggest upset in ONE Championship history and bring a world title back to the United Kingdom, or will 'The Iron Man' go two-up on Smith and secure his spot atop the flyweight throne?
Fans in the United States and Canada can watch ONE 169: Malykhin vs. ‘Reug Reug’ live on Amazon Prime Video on Friday, Nov. 8 in U.S. primetime.
