“A lot of people thought that I won” - Jonathan Haggerty looks back at close first fight with Rodtang
British fighter Jonathan Haggerty believes that his first encounter with Thai superstar Rodtang Jitmuangnon was so close to call that the outcome could have easily swung in his favor.
Back in August 2019, 'The General,' then the ONE flyweight Muay Thai world champion, put his title on the line against 'The Iron Man.' What ensued was an explosive five-round showdown that saw both fighters going at it with everything they had.
In the end, however, it was Rodtang's hand that was raised in victory by way of unanimous decision, becoming the new champion. The Thai star eventually doubled up on Haggerty, winning more convincingly in their title rematch in January 2020 by TKO.
In the retrospective video he uploaded on YouTube on July 14, Jonathan Haggerty spoke about want went down in the first Rodtang fight and the outcome, saying:
"Yeah, I feel like if I would have won this fight, there wouldn't have been a rematch. The only reason why there was a rematch, because it was so close, and a lot of people thought that I won, a lot of people thought that he won. It was a great fight."
Check out what he had to say below:
Jonathan Haggerty bounced back after consecutive losses to Rodtang
After hitting a rough patch in his ONE Championship journey with his back-to-back losses to Rodtang Jitmuangnon, Jonathan Haggerty has since rebounded well, winning six straight while capturing two world titles along the way.
His bounce-back began with a unanimous decision victory over Japanese Taiki Naito in December 2020. He then followed it up with consecutive decision wins over Mongkolpetch Petchyindee of Thailand and Vladimir Kuzmin of Russia in February and November 2022, respectively.
In April 2023, Jonathan Haggerty became world champion once again by knocking out in the opening round longtime bantamweight Muay Thai world champion Nong-O Hama. The Orpington, England native then claimed the division's kickboxing gold seven months later with a KO win over bantamweight MMA king Fabricio Andrade to become a two-sport world champion.
Haggerty was last in action back in February, successfully defending the Muay Thai title with a TKO of Brazilian challenger Felipe Lobo.
He is now gearing up to defend the bantamweight Muay Thai belt once again at ONE 168 in Denver, Colorado, U.S.A, on Sept. 6 against flyweight kickboxing world champion Superlek Kiatmoo9.
Tickets for ONE 168: Denver are now available on Ticketmaster. The event will be aired live and for free on U.S. primetime to North American fans with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription.