“I will get my belt back” - Rodtang vows to reclaim flyweight Muay Thai throne after complete domination of Jacob Smith

It was a bittersweet end to an otherwise thrilling victory for Rodtang Jitmuangnon at ONE 169.

The Thai megastar scored another scorching win when he dominated Jacob Smith this past Friday at the historic Lumpinee Stadium but failed to leave the arena with the ONE flyweight Muay Thai world championship.

Rodtang was supposed to defend the flyweight Muay Thai throne against Smith, but he was stripped of his gold ahead of the card after missing the division's 135-pound limit at the official weigh-ins.

Despite his win over Smith, Rodtang wasn't eligible to capture the gold, and it was a predicament he promised wouldn't be repeated in the future.

Rodtang vowed to reclaim the ONE flyweight Muay Thai world title and uphold his fans' collective belief in him in an Instagram post:

"I have two things I want to say to everyone; 1 - I am sorry for letting you all down by missing weight🙏 2- Thank you to all my fans for supporting me. I will get my belt back and be the champion again 🙏🙏🇹🇭🇹🇭🇹🇭"

Rodtang was in his usual electrifying form when he faced Smith in Bangkok, but showed a different layer to his already entertaining personality.

Doing away with allowing his opponents to sock him square in the jaw, Rodtang showed a bit of taunting and effectively worked behind his counter to clobber Smith.

Rodtang ultimately scored the unanimous decision win for his 16th victory in ONE Championship.

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Rodtang apologizes for missing weight ahead of ONE 169

Rodtang Jitmuangnon was 6-0 when he fought for the ONE flyweight Muay Thai world title, but that streak came to a disappointing end when he stepped on the scales ahead of ONE 169.

The Thai superstar was just half a pound shy of making the flyweight limit of 135 pounds and was subsequently stripped of the ONE flyweight Muay Thai world championship before his supposed world title defense against Jacob Smith.

A heartbroken Rodtang quickly took to Instagram to express his melancholy and immediately apologized for missing such a crucial step:

"In the seven [five] years we've been together, I've done my best. If we part ways, I won't go far. I promise to bring you back. I've done my best."