Jonathan Haggerty says stunning upset of Nong-O elevated his career to new heights: "This fight changed my life"

Jonathan Haggerty enjoyed a memorable 2023 as he closed out his year with back-to-back world title wins to become a two-sport ONE world champion.

Though his win over Fabricio Andrade for the promotion's bantamweight kickboxing crown capped off his year in style, it was his knockout win over Nong-O Hama that truly set him up for a dream campaign on the global stage.

Up against a man who had near-tenfold experience and had not yet been beaten under the ONE banner, many feared 'The General' was simply staring at the face of defeat even before things took off.

Haggerty had other ideas, however. The Londoner dished out his finest performance and bagged his quickest night out inside the Circle by seeing off the Thai icon at the 2:40 mark of the opening stanza.

At the same time, per the British striker, it was a moment that changed the trajectory of his career. Speaking on the Winners Talking Podcast recently, he detailed:

"Yeah, yeah. I mean I've been the underdog all the fights. I've been the underdog in all the fights. And I don't mind being the underdog. There's not a lot of pressure. But this fight, yeah, I'd say this fight changed my life, you know."

Watch the full interview here:

Regrettably, Jonathan Haggerty dropped his bantamweight Muay Thai crown to Superlek Kiatmoo9 via a first-round knockout at ONE 168: Denver this past September.

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Setbacks aren't anything new for Jonathan Haggerty

If he could have written the script differently, the Knowlesy Academy and Team Underground superstar would have loved to wrap up his debut outing in North America with a majestic win over Superlek.

But with the result far from what he would have hoped, Haggerty is ready to turn back the clock when he returns to duty next.

Still reigning as the ONE bantamweight kickboxing world champion, 'The General' has plenty to look forward to instead of just having that loss playing in his head.

After all, the mark of a champion is often defined by how they bounce back from setbacks. And in Jonathan Haggerty's case, all is far from lost for the former two-sport kingpin.