“Excited for the next one” - Jonathan Haggerty ready for more challenges after triumphant outing last February
Jonathan Haggerty was excited to get back into the win column.
After suffering an especially brutal 49-second knockout against Superlek at ONE 168: Denver, 'The General' bounced back with a dominant decision victory over Wei Rui at ONE 171 in Qatar, successfully defending his ONE bantamweight kickboxing world championship in the process.
Speaking with the South China Morning Post, Haggerty was still on cloud nine after putting together such an impressive performance and seeing his hand raised inside the Circle.
"Yeah, buzzing," Haggerty said when asked about the win. "It was good to get back on to winning ways and excited for the next one."
It was Haggerty's second successful go in eight-ounce gloves—his first being a world title-winning performance against ONE bantamweight MMA world champion Fabricio Andrade in November 2023.
As for what comes next, it sounds like Haggerty is on a collision course with none other than former ONE flyweight Muay Thai world titleholder Rodtang Jitmuangnon.
Chatri Sityodtong on Rodtang-Jonathan Haggerty trilogy
Following Rodtang's incredible 80-second knockout of former three-division K-1 champion Takeru Segawa at ONE 172 in Japan, CEO Chatri Sityodtong revealed that a trilogy fight between Jonathan Haggerty and 'The Iron Man' was in the works.
"Six years later, we meet again! See you soon," Haggerty wrote on Instagram in response to Sityodtong's comments.
Rodtang and Haggerty previously met twice for the ONE flyweight Muay Thai world championship—their inaugural bout going down at ONE: Dawn of Heroes in August 2019.
On that night, Rodtang bested 'The General' via unanimous decision, though the result came with a hint of controversy.
Running it back five months later, 'The Iron Man' delivered a much more decisive result, knocking out Haggerty in the third round of their rematch at ONE: A New Tomorrow.
More than half a decade later, is it time for the two P4P greats to finally close out their iconic rivalry?