"They respect me" - Jonathan Haggerty on the reception he gets from Thais since moving to Thailand
For the majority of his time in ONE Championship, Jonathan Haggerty would be competing in enemy territory.
The Brit has achieved some incredible things in the promotion but stepping inside the Circle often comes with the same formula.
Haggerty is used to competing against Thai athletes in their home country but this changed to some degree in recent times.
'The General' decided to up sticks and take his training camps to Thailand to live out in Asia rather than making the trip over from England whenever a fight was getting close.
In a recent interview on the Sky Sports MMA Club via Spotify, Haggerty spoke about how he has been received by the Thai fans ever since making the switch. He believes that whilst he may not be everyone's favorite fighter just yet, he has done enough to at least earn their respect:
"I'm not sure if they like me, but they respect me. I mean, doing what I've done, I'm not taking an easy road, I don't take any easy fight, and yeah, they definitely like me. I'm not sure that they like me, but they respect me."
Jonathan Haggerty is now set to compete on neutral ground
Jonathan Haggerty is now set to take on another of the elite Thai fighters in the world when he faces Superlek at ONE 168.
The key difference this time around is that it won't feel like fighting at home for either man as ONE Championship returns to Denver.
On Sept. 6, the two world champions will clash inside the Ball Arena in what is one of the most highly anticipated fights of the entire year.
With his bantamweight Muay Thai world championship on the line, Haggerty will look to produce the biggest win of his career to date by beating a man that many consider to be the very best.
ONE 168 will air live in US prime time on Sept. 6 from the Ball Arena in Denver.