“It’s heartbreaking” - Jonathan Haggerty sympathizes with Rodtang after he lost flyweight Muay Thai belt on the scales
Jonathan Haggerty labeled Rodtang's ONE 169 weight miss as "heartbreaking."
Last week was filled with mixed emotions for Rodtang, as he lost his flyweight Muay Thai world title due to missing weight. 'The Iron Man' remained focused on the task at hand, dominating Jacob Smith to secure a unanimous decision win.
Rodtang's weight-cutting issues received various reactions from ONE Championship fighters. Liam Harrison ridiculed the Thai superstar for the situation, while Haggerty had this to say during an interview with Sky Sports:
"It’s heartbreaking. It’s the last little bit, really. You’ve done it all and then you got that last little pound hanging over your head. For me, I’d get it done, but like Freddie [Haggerty] says, you just don’t know how hard he’s tried."
Rodtang's latest win against Jacob Smith extended his promotional Muay Thai record to 13-1. Following ONE 169, the 27-year-old faced off with Japanese kickboxing superstar Takeru Segawa, making a must-see matchup with them expected for the first half of 2025.
The replay of ONE 169, including Rodtang's dominant performance against Smith, can be seen for free by North American and Canadian viewers with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription.
Watch Jonathan Haggerty's entire interview with Sky Sports below:
Jonathan Haggerty looks for a bounce-back performance in next fight
On September 6, Jonathan Haggerty had an opportunity to further his legacy in a main-event Muay Thai matchup against Superlek. Unfortunately for the U.K. superstar, Superlek landed a picture-perfect elbow knockout in the first minute, dethroning Haggerty of his ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world title.
At 27 years old, Haggerty doesn't plan on retiring anytime soon. Therefore, he has a decision to make for his next fight.
Haggerty remains the ONE bantamweight kickboxing world title. Since capturing the throne, two contenders have proved they deserve a title shot against 'The General' - Wei Rui and Ilias Ennahachi, who defeated former champion Hiroki Akimoto in their respective last fights.
Meanwhile, Haggerty also plans to regain the ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world title. It'll be intriguing to see what happens with the 27-year-old over the next year, as he could pursue various entertaining matchups.