“It’s been a crazy journey” – Christian Knowles looks back on Jonathan Haggerty’s rise to champ-champ status

Behind every successful athlete is an eagle-eyed coach carefully tailoring every plan. In Jonathan Haggerty’s case, Christian Knowles has been that guy working wonders behind the Englishman’s two-sport dominance on the global stage of ONE Championship.

The Knowlesy Academy head honcho doesn’t just lend a hand and chip in with ideas or the perfect strategy for ‘The General’ under the promotional spotlight, though.

Even when the ONE bantamweight Muay Thai and kickboxing world champion needs some moral support or aid, Knowles is there to guide Jonathan Haggerty through every step of greatness.

That relationship has proven vital for both men as the reigning two-sport king tackled one obstacle after another with relative ease.

Still, Knowles knows there are tougher roads ahead, as they have experienced throughout their run in the promotion over the past six years.

Speaking to Wesley Gunman Graham, ‘Knowlesy’ offered:

“It’s been a crazy journey. I’ve thoroughly loved it. There’s been hardship and whatnot, but that’s what makes a good story. Like John won that title, oh my goodness, five years ago? He won that title against Sam-A, he lost it against Rodtang, and when that happened, the goal was to get it back, to do whatever we can to improve and get better. And we went in the lab and worked really hard. And he’s done it now.”

Watch the full interview here:

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There truly are only tougher roads ahead for Jonathan Haggerty

Though the journey to attain two world titles in back-to-back fights against Nong-O Hama, a man largely seen as indestructible, and bantamweight MMA king Fabricio Andrade has somewhat been a cherry on the cake, Knowles believes there is no time for slacking with Jonathan Haggerty having a bigger target on his back.

After succeeding in his role of being the hunter, Knowles sees this as a perfect opportunity for his 27-year-old star protege to prove his worth as a reigning champion and complete his quest to be the very best in the business.

There has been no confirmation on whom Jonathan Haggerty will go up against next. But a kickboxing world title defense against former kingpin Hiroki Akimoto seems to be the next viable option after a successful outing against Felipe Lobo at ONE Fight Night 19 last month.

North American fans with an active subscription can rewatch Jonathan Haggerty’s epic finish of the Brazilian striker for free via the free-to-watch function on Amazon Prime Video.