"It was all new to me" - Jonathan Haggerty admits he misjudged first attempt to move up to bantamweight

Things didn't exactly look great for Jonathan Haggerty when he first made the jump to a higher division at bantamweight.

While 'The General' escaped with a razor-close majority decision against the ultra-tough Vladimir Kuzmin, he missed the demands of the scales and failed weight and hydration the first time out.

In a video called Retrospect on his personal YouTube page, Haggerty recalled that difficult battle against the gutsy Russian fighter.

While the Brit used to fight at 135 pounds before, he miscalculated the bulk and had to negotiate a catchweight bout:

"I actually missed weight for this fight, bantamweight, because I got all the judgments wrong for the weight, the hydration up to bantamweight. I didn't know how much water my body could hold. So it was all new to me and my coach."

The bantamweight Muay Thai and kickboxing king continued:

"We actually missed weight for this one and we told ourselves, we will never miss this weight again. So after this fight, we've never missed weight again."

True to his promise, Jonathan Haggerty kept his word as his body soon adjusted at bantamweight.

Needless to say, he found a home at 145 pounds and unlocked his deadliest version to date with three straight knockout finishes after that close call against Kuzmin.

Watch Jonathan Haggerty's full video:

---

Jonathan Haggerty says bantamweight switch was perfect for his career

Apart from taking his career to new heights, Jonathan Haggerty says his body thanked him for moving to 145 pounds.

The two-sport king continued:

"As soon as I went to bantamweight, I got a new strength and conditioning coach. I started working more on power and explosiveness. I was eating a lot more. I was a lot happier in camp."

'The General' will look to keep both belts in tow ahead of his most challenging test yet at ONE 168: Denver. On September 6, the 27-year-old will put his bantamweight Muay Thai world title on the line against Superlek Kiatmoo9 at Ball Arena.

Tickets for ONE 168: Denver are available via Ticketmaster