“A tricky fight for me” - Jonathan Haggerty admits he had a lot of doubts in bantamweight debut vs Vladimir Kuzmin
Jonathan Haggerty was filled with doubt ahead of his bantamweight debut.
After hitting a brick wall named Rodtang in back-to-back bouts in the flyweight division, Haggerty decided to test his skills at 145. Making the move up at ONE on Prime Video 4, 'The General' squared off with dangerous Russian striker Vladimir Kuzmin.
Haggerty ultimately won the bout via unanimous decision, but during a recent career retrospect on his YouTube channel, the reigning two-sport king admitted to feeling uneasy about the move hours before making the walk.
"This was a very close fight," Haggerty said. "The night before this fight, it was always doubts going through my mind, like, how hard do the bantamweights hit? Am I going to be strong enough for this weight division? This was a bit of a tricky fight for me, though, it was like a game of chess."
Since then, Haggerty has taken over the bantamweight division, starting with an earth-shattering first-round KO of Nong-O Hama to win the ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world championship. Seven months later he returned to take home the vacant ONE bantamweight kickboxing crown with a brutal second-round finish of Fabricio Andrade.
Next, 'The General' will look to defend his bantamweight Muay Thai title against perhaps the most dangerous striker in the art of eight limbs today.
Jonathan Haggerty meets Superlek in a massive Muay Thai title clash at ONE 168: Denver
Returning to the Circle on Friday, September 6, Jonathan Haggerty will put his gold up for grabs in a massive Muay Thai clash with 'The Kicking Machine' Superlek Kiatmoo9.
Their bout will go down as part of a loaded ONE 168: Denver card, emanating from Ball Arena in The Mile High City. It will be ONE Championship's first time in the United States since their critically acclaimed ONE Fight Night 10 card in May 2023.
Moving up from his post as the ONE flyweight kickboxing world champion, Superlek will look to claim two-sport glory while extending his unbeaten streak to 11 inside the Circle.
As for Haggerty, 'The General' will seek his second straight defense of the bantamweight Muay Thai belt after landing a highlight-reel knockout of 'Demolition Man' Felipe Lobo at ONE Fight Night 19 in February.
Who comes out on top when two of the world's most exciting strikers square off in The Centennial State?
Follow this link for tickets for ONE 168: Denver on September 6 at Ball Arena.