“I got it back before” - Jonathan Haggerty says his early career loss to Rodtang helped him cope with the defeat to Superlek

Jonathan Haggerty found an unlikely source of motivation when he lost one of his coveted world titles in Denver.

The British superstar relinquished the ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world title to ONE flyweight kickboxing world champion Superlek Kiatmoo9 in their champion-versus-champion showdown in the main event of ONE 168: Denver September 2024.

Haggerty has often acknowledged that it was one of the biggest blows to his career, but he always knew he could bounce back and restart his reign as a two-sport world champion.

In an interview with Inside Fighting, Haggerty admitted that his world title defeat to Rodtang Jitmuangnon in August 2019 helped him cope with his loss to Superlek.

Jonathan Haggerty, who still holds the ONE bantamweight kickboxing world title, said:

"Yeah, 100 percent. I think I took that loss pretty well. Obviously, losing the belt against Rodtang, I was down in the dumps for months. And that obviously, helped me when I lost the gold to Superlek. It made me know what it takes to get it back - and I got it back before."

Haggerty held the ONE flyweight Muay Thai world championship early in his ONE Championship tenure when he beat the legendary Sam-A Gaiyanghadao for the strap in May 2019.

His reign, however, lasted shortly when he lost the gold to Rodtang a few months later in Manila.

That defeat ultimately became the catalyst for Haggerty's growth into becoming arguably the greatest British striker of his generation.

Haggerty now looks to extend his legacy when he defends his ONE bantamweight kickboxing world title against Chinese superstar Wei Rui at ONE 171: Qatar on Feb. 20 at Lusail Sports Arena.

Tickets for ONE 171 are available at Q-Tickets.

Watch Jonathan Haggerty's entire interview below:

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Jonathan Haggerty keeping a close eye on world title unification match between Superlek, Nabil Anane

While his world title defense will go down in less than two weeks, Jonathan Haggerty is also keeping a close look at the impending world title unification match between Superlek and Nabil Anane.

Superlek will take on interim world champion Nabil Anane in a world title unification match for the undisputed ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world title at ONE 172 on March 23 at the historic Saitama Super Arena in Japan.

In an interview with ONE Championship, Haggerty said:

"I don’t want to keep the division on hold. Obviously, for Muay Thai, I’m gonna see how it plays out. Obviously, you have the likes of Nabil now fighting Superlek. So let them guys fight, while I defend my kickboxing belt. After the kickboxing belt, we’d go back to the drawing board and see what the options are."

Tickets for ONE 172 are available at E-Plus.