“There are no shortcuts” - Jonathan Haggerty runs uphill in the rain to prepare for Vladimir Kuzmin

Former ONE flyweight Muay Thai world champion Jonathan Haggerty is looking in tremendous shape ahead of his bantamweight debut at ONE on Prime Video 4. 'The General' will face Russian striker Vladimir Kuzmin on the main card of the November 19 event.

Ahead of his first-ever bout at 145 pounds, the fighting Brit shared a video of himself sprinting uphill in the rain. It looks like it's straight out of a Rocky movie:

"Hard work, heart and dedication. There are no shortcuts. That’s why I am the best in the world 🌍 My bantamweight title reign starts November 18th @onechampionship🤴🏼"

Check out the Instagram post below:

We got two important talking points from this post. First, what Jonathan Haggerty said was correct - there are no shortcuts to greatness. You don't need a handful of supplements or some new-age, trendy training regimen to fast-track your way to the top. It only requires some good ol' hardwork, heart, and dedication.

Second, it looks like Haggerty is gunning for a world title run at the bantamweight Muay Thai ranks of ONE. The match-ups waiting for him atop that division are phenomenal.

You've got stalwarts like Saemapetch Fairtex, Rodlek P.K. Saenchai, Liam Harrison, and of course, the reigning dominant king, Nong-O Gaiyanghadao.

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Jonathan Haggerty cites ONE's hydration policy as reason for moving up to bantamweight

In an interview with YouTube channel The MMA Superfan, Jonathan Haggerty revealed why he decided to leave flyweight and test the waters at bantamweight. Apparently, ONE's fighter safety and hydration policies played a huge part in his decision.

'The General' said:

"The last time I made 61 kilos, I made the weight, but it's really the hyrdration, really. Just keeping myself hydrated, it's difficult to keep the balance... And in the next one, you know, my body must have just grown. I had a 12-week camp for Walter Goncalves and I started to fade in the last bit. I started to peak just a little bit early and, yeah you know, it was hard. I was doing it all by myself and I thought, 'I cannot afford to just not fight again this year. Let me go to bantamweight... Let me knock on their door.' Yeah man, I'm excited. Who knows, it might be the new me. "

Making weight is one of, if not the hardest, parts of professional fighting. Fighters often put themselves at health risk just so they can meet their weight requirements. Jonathan Haggerty has had two straight fights canceled due to health reasons and perhaps his move to bantamweight was the wisest decision of his career.

ONE Championship put together a revolutionary weight and hydration policy to guarantee the safety of their fighters and abolish the rampant health scares caused by extreme weight cutting. In Haggerty's case, his body may have simply grown and cutting down to 125 might be bad for his health and most importantly, his performance.

Watch the full interview below: