Jonathan Haggerty claims fights vs. Rodtang changed his career outlook: “I think that was the best thing for me”

British striker Jonathan Haggerty had some of his toughest losses in his career dealt to him by Thai superstar Rodtang Jitmuangnon. However, he admits the setbacks only made him a better fighter.

‘The General’ took on ‘The Iron Man’ in succession a few years back and lost on both occasions. The first was in August 2019, when he surrendered the ONE flyweight Muay Thai world title by unanimous decision. He attempted to reclaim the division’s gold in January 2020 but fell short in his quest, losing by technical knockout in the third round.

In an interview with FirstSportz MMA, Jonathan Haggerty spoke of what kind of effect his twin losses to Rodtang had on him and his career. The 26-year-old Knowles Academy standout said:

“Those two matches, yeah for sure, changed me as a fighter. You know, he's a great fighter, a great champion and it just made me want it more. I think that was the best thing for me.”

He added:

“You know, once he took my belt, I told myself the day: ‘I’m going to get that belt back.’ And I’ve been on that journey ever since, and finally I got to get it back and I moved up a weight.”

Check out what he had to say below:

Jonathan Haggerty, now the reigning ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world champion, returns to action on November 3 at ONE Fight Night 16 on Prime Video in Bangkok. He will take on the division’s mixed martial arts titleholder Fabricio Andrade in an all-champion clash for the vacant bantamweight kickboxing world title.

He is gunning to become one of the very few two-sport ONE world champions while also winning his third world title under the promotion, having once held the flyweight gold.

Fabricio Andrade, for his part, is also out to realize his own two-sport champion aspirations after claiming the vacant bantamweight MMA world title in February. For the upcoming fight, he is also returning to kickboxing, something he had extensive experience doing prior to joining ONE Championship.

ONE Fight Night 16 will take place at the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium and will air live in U.S. primetime, free of charge for existing Prime Video subscribers in the United States and Canada.