"He actually came with mind games" - Jonathan Haggerty reveals there was a lot of mental warfare between him and Rodtang
Jonathan Haggerty was pushed to the limit by the greatest foe that he has shared the Circle with to date. After getting his hands on the ONE flyweight Muay Thai world championship in just his second fight with the promotion, he was set for a massive clash.
Even defeating a legend like Sam-A couldn't have prepared him for what he would face in his next two fights.
'The General' went to war with Rodtang Jitmuangnon twice, but the Thai superstar got the better of him on both instances.
'The Iron Man' is known for his exciting fighting style, where he regularly taunts opponents to try and force them to play his game.
Haggerty revealed in a recent video that he believes his opponent started playing mind games with him from the moment they stood across from one another:
"He actually came with mind games. He knew I'd wear those shorts with bows, so he thought he'd come and match me and wear bows on his shorts. He tried to play a little bit of mind games there. I feel like I was doing quite well after that knockdown. When he caught me with a good shot, I was catching him as he was coming in with the knees."
Watch the full video below:
Jonathan Haggerty had to battle through adversity
You don't come out of a fight with Rodtang without some scrapes and scars and Jonathan Haggerty certainly didn't.
He fought through adversity in both fights and whilst he wasn't able to avenge his loss, the Brit would eventually make the move to bantamweight where he has achieved great success.
His next outing sees him take on the last man to defeat Rodtang when he defends his ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world championship against Superlek on September 6 in Denver.
'The Iron Man' also has plans to fight in front of the U.S. fans but his destination lies in Atlanta as he defends his flyweight title against Jacob Smith on November 8.
Tickets for both ONE 168: Denver and ONE 169: Atlanta are available via Ticketmaster.