WATCH: Thai superstar Rodtang Jitmuangnon is pure fire in dominant beatdown of Jacob Smith in Bangkok

Thai superstar Rodtang Jitmuangnon ended another winning season in ONE Championship last year with a dominant victory over British striker Jacob Smith in their rematch.

It took place at ONE 169 back in November, where 'The Iron Man' was supposed to defend his long-held flyweight Muay Thai gold. Unfortunately, he lost the belt even before the match went down for missing weight. As part of his penalty, he was not eligible to win the title back even with a victory.

Despite that, Rodtang was undeterred and came out with fire in his eyes. He immediately put the pressure on Smith right at the onset and sustained it through the course of five rounds. The Jitmuangnon Gym standout considerably swung the tide in his favor in the third round when he cut the Englishman's right eye with his trademark elbow strikes.

It was all downhill for Smith from there as he slumped to the defeat by unanimous decision.

ONE Championship relived what took place at ONE 169 by sharing highlights of the showdown between Rodtang and Smith on Instagram. It was in line with the Thai sensation's scheduled match in March against Japanese kickboxing legend Takeru Segawa.

Check out the video post below:

The win over Smith was in follow-up to Rodtang's unanimous decision victory over veteran Bosnian-Canadian fighter Denis Puric in their three-round barnburner five months earlier at ONE 167.

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Rodtang is excited to return to Japan for next fight

Rodtang Jitmuangnon is set to make his return to Japan in his next match, nearly six years since he was last in action in the "Land of the Rising Sun."

The 27-year-old Thai sensation battles hometown hero Takeru Segawa in a flyweight kickboxing match at ONE 172 on March 23 at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama. It will be his first match in Japan since being featured in two matches back in 2019 against Hakim Hamech at ONE: A New Era (March) and Walter Gonclaves at ONE: Century Part II (October).

At the press conference for ONE 172, Rodtang, shared his thoughts on competing again in Japan, which he considers home for the warm reception he receives every time he has a fight there.

He said:

"I'm genuinely happy to fight in Japan. Japan is like my second home. While I'm disappointed I couldn't return for a while, I'm excited about this fight. I'll fight as if Japan is my home. So, please look forward to it."

The two martial arts superstars were initially set to battle in January last year also in Japan but saw it cancelled after Rodtang suffered an injury.

Pre-sale registration for ONE 172 tickets is already available on this link.