Jonathan Haggerty hails Christian Knowles as ‘the greatest coach in the world’: “Without him, there’s no me”

ONE bantamweight Muay Thai and kickboxing world champion Jonathan Haggerty is undoubtedly one of the best pound-for-pound strikers in the world today.

‘The General’, though, admitted he would not have scaled such heights if not for the support of his longtime coach, Christian Knowles. Not one to forget those who paved the way for him, Haggerty credited his trusted mentor for allowing him to realize his full potential.

The now two-sport ONE world champion expressed his love and adulation to Knowles in an interview with Sports Illustrated:

“In my opinion, Christian Knowles is the greatest coach in the world. He’s like a second dad to me. Without him, there’s no me. He came out to Thailand to train me for the last four months, which I’m very thankful for, and we have an unbreakable bond. We are really unstoppable at the moment.”

Christian Knowles took Jonathan Haggerty under his wing early in his career, as they literally poured in countless blood, sweat, and tears at Knowlesy Academy in the United Kingdom.

The renowned striking coach even followed Haggerty when he decided to establish a base in Thailand to prepare for his last two world title fights under the world's largest martial arts organization.

Safe to say, all their hard work has paid off. The 26-year-old Brit knocked out Nong-O Hama and, most recently, Fabricio Andrade in back-to-back displays of beautiful violence to claim two golden belts.

Jonathan Haggerty has indeed risen to the upper echelon of the striking arts, and we all have Christian Knowles to thank for making sure he reached the top.

The replay of Haggerty’s victory over Andrade at ONE Fight Night 16 is available anytime on demand for Amazon Prime Video subscribers in the United States and Canada.