FREE FULL FIGHT: Rodtang stamps legacy with career-defining KO against Jonathan Haggerty

The ONE flyweight Muay Thai division witnessed an epic rivalry between reigning world champion Rodtang Jitmuangnon and former world champion Jonathan Haggerty since their first meeting in August 2019 at ONE: Dawn of Heroes, which went down inside the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila, Philippines.

Rodtang and Haggerty turned in a classic back-and-forth battle, which delighted fans all over the world. In the end, ‘The Iron Man’ took the unanimous decision victory over ‘The General’ to mark a new era in the division. However, the British superstar wasn’t convinced about the outcome of their initial fight, as he demanded a rematch.

In January 2020, Haggerty’s request was granted, and Rodtang willingly accepted the rematch. This time, the now 26-year-old left no doubt as he finished the Team Underground representative in the third round of their world title clash inside the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand.

Ahead of Rodtang’s latest world title defense against ONE flyweight kickboxing world champion Superlek Kiatmoo9 this Friday in the main event of ONE Friday Fights 34, ONE Championship reposted his victory over Haggerty on YouTube with the caption:

Get hyped for the biggest Muay Thai showdown in ONE history between Rodtang and Superlek for the ONE Flyweight Muay Thai World Title by reliving "The Iron Man’s" epic World Title rematch with future ONE Bantamweight Muay Thai World Champion Jonathan Haggerty in 2020!

During the early stages of the fight, Rodtang was his usual self, reading and analyzing his opponent’s technique before adjusting his fight strategy accordingly. Although both are already throwing and exchanging heavy strikes with bad intentions in the opening round,

Less than one minute after making a read on Haggerty’s defense, Rodtang fired a powerful body shot that sent the challenger down the mat. Haggerty beat the count from the referee, but from that point on, ‘The Iron Man’ pounced on his body, and it became a primary target.

‘The General’ seemed to have recovered from the knockdown he suffered in the first round by utilizing more teeps and push-kicks in the second round in an effort to slow down the relentless attack from Rodtang; however, the Thai superstar still found ways to land powerful punches and kicks of his own, thus keeping his lead on the judges’ scorecards.

When the third round commenced, Rodtang firmly put his foot on the pedal as he went on to pressure Haggerty and peppered him with multiple combinations of punches to the head and body that caused a big cut on Haggerty’s ear. Before ending the match with ferocious body punches, Rodtang scored another knockdown in the same round.

That victory stamped Rodtang’s legacy as one of the best pound-for-pound Muay Thai fighters in the world today and helped him gain more fans in the combat sports community.