“It’s really a beautiful story” - Lito Adiwang expresses his admiration for two-sport champ Jonathan Haggerty’s rise to the top

Jonathan Haggerty has arguably one of the best comebacks in ONE Championship history, and Lito Adiwang can attest to that.

The British superstar went from relinquishing a world title to simultaneously holding two while having the lofty reputation as arguably the world’s best pound-for-pound striker.

Adiwang, who also suffered defeat both in and outside the ring, thus sees Haggerty as an inspiring figure to look up to. The Filipino star revealed in an interview with Sportskeeda MMA how he became a fan of the reigning ONE bantamweight Muay Thai and kickboxing world champion.

Lito Adiwang said he admired how Haggerty bounced back from losing his ONE flyweight Muay Thai world championship to Rodtang Jitmuangnon to holding two world titles in the bantamweight division.

“It’s also motivating because he became a champion, lost to Rodtang, came back. His biggest comeback was when he returned, went up to bantamweight, beat Nong-O [Hama], and beat the MMA champ Fabricio in kickboxing. It’s really a beautiful story," Adiwang said.

Haggerty once reached the pinnacle of martial arts when he beat the legendary Sam-A Gaiyanghadao for the ONE flyweight Muay Thai world title in May 2019. His reign, however, didn’t last long, and he quickly lost the gold to the current holder Rodtang in August 2019. Haggerty tried to regain the throne in January 2020 but lost via third-round knockout.

After losing two straight, Haggerty won three straight to set up a world title challenge against the iconic Nong-O for the ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world championship.

In a stunning turn of events, Haggerty shocked the world when he knocked out one of Muay Thai’s greatest fighters ever in the first round of their ONE Fight Night 9 matchup.

Haggerty then became a two-sport world champion when he knocked out ONE bantamweight MMA world champion Fabricio Andrade for the vacant ONE bantamweight kickboxing world title at ONE Fight Night 16.

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Lito Adiwang draws inspiration from Jonathan Haggerty

Lito Adiwang isn’t shy when certain fighters push him to another level, and one of those is the two-sport champ Jonathan Haggerty.

In the same interview, Adiwang said he saw Haggerty rise from being a downtrodden former champion to a two-sport king:

“Yeah, I watched him, watched his ups and downs, and he has a really great story. Rodtang beat him, he came back, went to bantamweight, got the belt from Nong-O [Hama].”

Lito Adiwang will need to carry that inspiration with him when he matches up against Danial Williams at ONE Fight Night 19 on February 16 at the historic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium.

The strawweight MMA matchup, and the entire ONE Fight Night 19 card, is available live and for free to all Prime Video subscribers in North America.