Jonathan Haggerty admits he ‘wasn’t meant’ to fall into a war with Rodtang

Jonathan Haggerty says he was drawn into a war with ‘The Iron Man’ Rodtang Jitmuangnon despite the advice of his corner.

‘The General’ shared the Circle with Rodtang on two separate occasions in the span of five months between August 2019 and January 2020. Both fights were highly entertaining Muay Thai wars, but Haggerty admits that he likely made a mistake by being drawn into a striking battle with one of Muay Thai’s greatest warriors.

In an interview with Heatrick Muay Thai Performance, Jonathan Haggerty shared the advice he received from his corner while battling ‘The Iron Man,’ but ultimately failed to follow. He said:

“Just do what you have to do to win. I fell into a war with him, which I wasn’t meant to do. I’m not sure my trainer was happy with me. One of them was like just clinch him. That one shoulder was saying clinch, that other shoulder was saying don’t clinch, people will think you’re scared.”

‘The General’ may not have been able to solve the puzzle that is Rodtang, but perhaps he could hand another Muay Thai icon his first ONE Championship loss.

Stepping into the main event spotlight at ONE Fight Night 9, Haggerty will attempt to do what no man has done inside the Circle: defeat Nong-O Hama and take his ONE bantamweight Muay Thai World Championship in the process.

---

The lessons Jonathan Haggerty took from fighting Rodtang Jitmuangnon

Few fighters were put through the gauntlet of elite competition like Jonathan Haggerty upon his debut with ONE Championship. In his first year with the promotion, ‘The General’ earned victories over current ONE strawweight titleholder Joseph Lasiri and Muay Thai legend Sam-A Gaiyanghadao before suffering back-to-back losses to Rodtang.

However, Jonathan Haggerty came out of his two bouts against ‘The Iron Man’ with more than a couple of marks in the loss column. He learned to have a champion mindset when going into high-stakes matchups against the best fighters in the world. Detailing the lessons he learned, Haggerty said:

“Championship mindset. Like for instance, when they tell you, ‘You got to fight Rodtang’. In your head, you don’t say no. You just say, ‘Yeah, let’s do it’. From the get-go, you just say ‘Yeah, that’s what I want to do. That’s how I’m going to beat him’. That’s the championship mindset you need to have.”

‘The General’ will look to carry that mindset into his main event showdown with Nong-O Hama on April 21 when ONE Championship returns to the iconic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium for ONE Fight Night 9.

The event will be broadcast live and for free for fans in North America with an Amazon subscription via Prime Video.