“It probably did come a bit too soon” - Jacob Smith says fighting Rodtang for the first time was a huge leap for him

British star Jacob Smith has learned many important lessons from his flaws, and now he's ready to prove his worth. So far, Smith has become a staple of ONE Championship's flyweight Muay Thai division since his arrival in 2022.

But, his introduction to ONE was indeed a rough one, with a loss in the hands of his first foe, ONE flyweight Muay Thai world champion Rodtang Jitmuangnon.

After taking a beating and admitting he didn't deliver the best performance that night, he now has a chance to show everyone else he could do better at ONE 169: Atlanta, where he will again face his old tormentor, Rodtang.

The title challenger told Sportskeeda MMA in an interview to build up the November 8 card in State Farm Arena, Atlanta, what he saw in the first fight:

"But, if I'm being honest, yeah, it probably did come a bit too soon. It was my first fight at that level. My very first fight in ONE Championship. My first fight in the smaller gloves. My first fight away from my family."

"And all of that combined, and against Rodtang, yeah, that happened."

With that, he promised to bring a much better version of himself in the rematch with Rodtang.

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Jacob Smith wants revenge in his rematch with Rodtang at ONE 169

After a rough welcome in the home of martial arts, Jacob Smith will finally get another opportunity to avenge his loss from ONE flyweight Muay Thai king Rodtang Jitmuangnon.

This high-stakes rematch will take place inside the State Farm Arena at the stacked ONE 169: Atlanta card on November 8.

In the same interview, Smith said:

"Now, I've got four fights in ONE Championship, four fights at that level. And yeah, I feel this time around, it's gonna be a lot different."

Tickets for ONE 169: Atlanta are available via Ticketmaster.