"Put a demolition job on me" - Jonathan Haggerty looks back on his brutal loss to Rodtang in their second encounter
Jonathan Haggerty is used to performing under the spotlight in his career but nothing compares to his iconic rivalry.
'The General' hit the ground running when he arrived in ONE Championship but little did he know that he was on a collision course with one of the best in the world.
After becoming the ONE flyweight Muay Thai world champion, the Brit fought in back-to-back wars with Rodtang Jitmuangnon.
Whilst he attempted to win back the belt in a rematch several months on from their first encounter, Haggerty was unsuccessful on both occasions.
He reflected on the second clash in a recent YouTube video, where after admitting that he discarded the game plan early on, he spoke about the damage that 'The Iron Man' was able to inflict:
"So he caught me with a body shot. I think he gave me that 10 stitches in my ear. This wasn't a great weight class for me at all. This was at 61 kilos, depleted, hungry, no strength. But there are no excuses. You come and put a demolition job on me. It only got stopped because I went down the maximum time. You could only go down three times in a round, and that was the third time I went down and I was hurt."
Watch the full video below:
Jonathan Haggerty came back stronger
As you can see in his recap of these fights, Jonathan Haggerty was forced to make some corrections as a result of his two fights with Rodtang
The losses may have been difficult to take at the time but they were all part of his story and have led to him becoming a better fighter as a result.
Now reigning as the ONE bantamweight Muay Thai and kickboxing world champion, Haggerty is in a different stage of his career, one that will see him head to Denver next time out to defend his Muay Thai title against Superlek at ONE 168 on September 6.
As for his former foe, he's also making the trip to the US as Rodtang defends the flyweight crown in a rematch with Jacob Smith on November 8 in Atlanta.
Tickets for ONE 168: Denver and ONE 169: Atlanta are available via Ticketmaster.