Coach Christian Knowles says self-belief is a big part of Jonathan Haggerty's success: "They have to believe it's achievable"

Reigning and undisputed ONE bantamweight Muay Thai and kickboxing world champion 'The General' Jonathan Haggerty may be one of the most confident fighters in the game today. At times, his demeanor almost comes off as boastful.

However, longtime coach Christian Knowles, who runs family-owned gym Knowlesy Academy in Edgware where Haggerty trains, says the champ's confidence is a key ingredient to his success.

Speaking on the Wesley Gunman Graham podcast on YouTube, Knowles talked about his prized ward and how confidence in his abilities comes into play.

Knowles said:

"I think I'm really good at gauging when, and not just Jonathan Haggerty, but when one of the boys or girls, if they're not on my script. I won't force my game plan on them, because they won't be able to do it. Yeah, like if they don't believe they can do it, you can't do it. So they have to believe it's achievable. They have to believe they can do it, otherwise you're fighting a losing battle no matter what."

Haggerty may talk a lot of smack, but the good thing is that 'The General' always backs things up. There is no shortage of confidence where Haggerty is concerned, and that has led to some epic performances in ONE Championship.

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Christian Knowles gives Jonathan Haggerty a chance to craft his own game plan for fights: "It's good to experiment"

All that being said, Christian Knowles says he gives Jonathan Haggerty lots of leeway as far as crafting game plans is concerned. In fact, he allows 'The General' to make his own strategies, even for the biggest fights.

Knowles said:

"I think the best coaches are the ones who can also pick the brain of their athletes. Because a lot of the time, they're seeing [the fight] from a different angle. So it's good to experiment and make a plan together."

So far, the partnership between Knowles and Haggerty has been a smashing success, one that has produced two ONE world titles in two different sports.