"Give them a bit of a shock" - Christian Knowles says he and Jonathan Haggerty did think about a return to flyweight
Renowned combat sports coach Chrisitan Knowles and two-sport world champion Jonathan Haggerty, who is one of his prized students, are having second thoughts about returning to the flyweight Muay Thai division after an enormous success in the bantamweight division.
The British tactician revealed this during his appearance on Wesley Gunman Graham's YouTube channel, where he talked about how he and Haggerty were discussing this potential move:
"Me and him were having a laugh because everyone's saying we're moving up to bantamweight and me and Jon were saying like let's tell them we're coming down to flyweight and give them a bit of a shock."
'The General' was a former ONE flyweight Muay Thai world champion, who defeated Sam-A Gaiyanghadao in May 2019 at ONE: For Honor. However, his reign was cut short by Rodtang Jitmuanongnon, who defeated him via split decision result during their first meeting in August 2019.
Haggerty tried to reclaim the 26-pound golden belt in January 2020 at ONE: A New Tomorro, but Rodtang stopped him in the third-round via TKO to fall short of becoming a two-time flyweight world champion.
Following that defeat, the 27-year-old British superstar officially moved up in weight on his way to becoming the undisputed ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world champion and ONE bantamweight kickboxing world champion.
Watch the full interview here:
Jonathan Haggerty successfully defended the challenge of Felipe Lobo to retain the Muay Thai championship
In February 2024, Jonathan Haggerty made a successful defense of the ONE Muay Thai world title when he TKO'd Felipe Lobo in their main event fight at ONE Fight Night 19 inside the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
Despite having a lot going through his mind in the lead-up to the fight, Jonathan Haggerty was able to weather the early barrage from the Brazilian challenger and engineer a come-from-behind victory to keep his status as a two-sport world champion.
North American viewers with an active Prime Video subscription can rewatch all the action from ONE Fight Night 19 via the free event replay.