“It's a waste of mental energy” - Jacob Smith careful not to get too ahead of himself in looming rematch with Rodtang

Jacob Smith is mindful not to overthink things ahead of his rematch with Rodtang Jitmuangnon next month in Thailand. He is instead focusing on the fight itself to be better prepared come fight night.

The British striker is set to challenge 'The Iron Man' for his ONE flyweight Muay Thai world title at ONE 169: Malykhin vs. Reug Reug on Nov. 8 in Bangkok's Lumpinee Stadium. It is a rematch of their first encounter two years ago, where the Thai superstar dominated with a unanimous decision victory.

In an interview with Combat Sports Today, which was uploaded on Oct. 19, Jacob Smith spoke about how he is approaching his redo with Rodtang, particularly how he is zeroing in on the fight itself above all else.

The Bad Company affiliate said:

"I just think it's a little bit if a waste of mental energy thinking about all the other things that come with it, when at the end of the day, there's no point in thinking about that just yet. Let's just focus on the fight."

Check out what he had to say below:

Rodtang welcomed Smith to ONE Championship in his promotional debut in May 2022 in a flyweight Muay Thai World Grand Prix quarterfinal match. While he fought gallantly for the duration of the three rounds, the Englishman was overpowered by the Jitmuangnon Gym standout en route to the unanimous decision win.

Heading into ONE 169, Jacob Smith expressed his readiness to put up a better showing and win.

ONE 169: Malykhin vs Reug Reug will air live and for free in U.S. primetime to North American fans with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription.

Jacob Smith sees his life changing if he defeats Rodtang in rematch

Jacob Smith is looking at his scheduled rematch with Rodtang Jitmuangnon at ONE 169: Malykhin vs. Reug Reug on Nov. 8 with a lot of significance. He believes his life would change in more ways than one if he ended up with a win.

The North West England native shared this in an interview with Sportskeeda MMA, underscoring how his rematch with 'The Iron Man' is among those things that carry a lot of impact moving forward.

Smith said:

"To win the ONE world champion, it'll be somthing that I can't put into words, like what that would mean to me. It would be life-changing. Yeah, it'll certainly be life-changing."

Smith said that like their first encounter two years ago, Rodtang enters the rematch as the favorite but he is out to shock the world with a victory. Rodtang-Smith II is the co-headlining match at ONE 169: Malykhin vs. Reug Reug.