"It's character building for me" - Jonathan Haggerty says losses to Rodtang served him well in career

Reigning undisputed ONE bantamweight kickboxing world champion Jonathan Haggerty holds an incredible 9-3 win-loss card under the world's largest martial arts organization.

Two of those three defeats were courtesy of Thai superstar Rodtang Jitmuangnon in 2019 and 2020 when they fought for the ONE flyweight Muay Thai world championship.

But 'The General' thinks that these setbacks from 'The Iron Man' helped him reach a new level of superstardom because he was able to lock horns with one of the best athletes in the world right now.

Haggerty mentioned this during his interview with Combat Corner Podcast, where he explained:

"I wasn't in there to make the numbers up as well. I was actually in there to get in there and be the best and beat these people. I think I was very close, the first fight with Rodtang. I still look back here now it's, damn, but it is what it is, and it's character building for me. It makes me who I am."

Watch Jonathan Haggerty's interview here:

Since those losses from Rodtang, Haggerty won seven of his eight matches and his most recent one was a successful defense of his 26-pound golden belt against Wei Rui last February 20 at ONE 171: Qatar.

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Rodtang takes on Takeru Segawa in the headliner of ONE 172 card in Japan

Haggerty's rise to superstardom was parallel to the success that Rodtang experienced after their showdowns because he also became one of the most popular fighters in combat sports due to his fan-friendly fighting style.

Now, the Jitmuangnon-affiliated athlete is set to face Japanese superstar Takeru Segawa on hostile territory in Japan on March 23 for the main event of ONE 172. The two striking maestros aim to put on a barnburner for the fans.

Fans can purchase the ONE 172: Takeru vs. Rodtang PPV via watch.onefc.com. The card goes down inside the Saitama Super Arena in Japan.