"I was just built different" - Jonathan Haggerty 'respects' Felipe Lobo for bringing out the best in him
Jonathan Haggerty comes into his next fight following one of the most electrifying nights of his career to date.
'The General' has achieved great success since moving up to the bantamweight division which in turn, put a target on his back.
After becoming a two-sport world champion, he was never going to be short on challengers coming thick and fast at him.
At ONE Fight Night 19, he put the ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world championship on the line for the first time.
Felipe Lobo had proven himself as a top contender in the division and with his ability to finish fights, this one had fireworks written all over it.
The fight more than lived up to the hype after delivering one of the best title fights that the promotion has ever seen.
Haggerty came out on top that night but it wasn't without having to answer some tough questions along the way.
Looking back at the fight in a recent YouTube video, the champion has fond memories of this encounter because it showed what he is made of:
"I just knew from that moment that I was just built different, get back up. Definitely respect there for Lobo. He gave me a great fight. You always need a dance partner in there. So respect, this one meant a lot to me."
Watch the full video below:
Jonathan Haggerty is able to take confidence from this fight
In some ways, there were elements of this fight that could be concerning for Jonathan Haggerty.
The champion knows himself and is, therefore, able to take positives from this difficult encounter because he knows how good he truly is on his day.
What he showed in this fight is that even when things aren't going his way, he doesn't crumble under the weight and he will take that with him into the Ball Arena on September 6.
This could be a defining factor in arguably the toughest fight of his career when he puts the same title on the line in the main event of ONE 168 where he faces Superlek.
Tickets for ONE 168: Denver on September 6 are available via Ticketmaster.