"That's hard to watch" - Jonathan Haggerty says second fight with Rodtang made him "stronger" despite getting blown out
UK striking superstar Jonathan Haggerty can now look back at his career and see where he made mistakes to learn from.
Until now, 'The General' has achieved many great things in ONE Championship, but he also experienced hard times, including two massive losses in the hands of ONE flyweight Muay Thai king Rodtang Jitmuangnon.
Nonetheless, he felt that all of those hard experience had made him stronger as a fighter, and allowed him to continue in his path by facing ONE flyweight kickboxing king Superlek Kiatmoo9 at ONE 168: Denver on September 6.
Ahead of that, he shared some of his past woes in a YouTube video, where he examined everything that went awry in his career. He also shared some of his thoughts about his rematch with Rodtang:
"That's hard to watch. That's what made me stronger, this fight made me strong. So after this fight, I think I had a little bit of a break. I was a little bit emotionally damaged after that fight. He literally obliterated me."
He continued:
"I took myself back to the drawing board with my coach, and we were just waiting on the next fight. We knew we'd better ourselves. So we'll make a massive statement, and we won't be beaten again in ONE Championship after that. And that is literally what's happened now, we've not been beaten since Rodtang."
Watch the full video here:
Jonathan Haggerty learned crucial lessons to make him much better fighter
27-year-old Jonathan Haggerty still has a long path to carve, and he's doing it by learning on the go to some extent.
A good example was the two losses he had to accept at the hands of ONE flyweight Muay Thai world champion Rodtang Jitmuangnon, which had shaped him into a formidable bantamweight Muay Thai and kickboxing ruler.
As those clashes brought meaningful insights for Haggerty, it is certain that he would also learn more from his next opponent, the ONE flyweight kickboxing king Superlek Kiatmoo9.
Superlek, the last person who defeated Rodtang, will challenge Haggerty's Muay Thai belt at ONE 168: Denver on September 6.
Tickets for ONE 168 are available via Ticketmaster.