"Damn, he got me!" - Jonathan Haggerty on what went through him mind as he tried to beat the count at ONE 168: Denver
Jonathan Haggerty recently owned up to his disappointing loss to Superlek in a podcast with Sky Sports MMA Club.
The former ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world champion spent the last month and a half, in deep thought about what went wrong in his last world title defense at ONE 168: Denver inside Ball Arena on September 6.
Haggerty previously earned his belt by beating former long-reigning divisional champion Nong-O Hama by way of TKO, and then defended it from top-ranked contender Felipe Lobo via stoppage.
After picking up the kickboxing belt last November, the British superstar seemed invincible. But Superlek quickly reminded us that Haggerty is all flesh and blood when he knocked him out within the first minute of their opening round.
When Haggerty was asked what went through his mind as Superlek celebrated while he tried to beat the count, 'The General' said:
"Yeah, I was aware of what happened. I was just thinking 'ahh, damn, he got me! Damn it!' All that hard work and he's got me. I was just a little bit disappointed."
Jonathan Haggerty may have the opportunity to rematch Superlek after being such a dominant world champion. However, there's more of a possibility that Superlek will go after Haggerty's kickboxing belt next.
Rewatch ONE 168: Denver, which is available to stream for free with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription.
"This is part of the journey" - Jonathan Haggerty keeps his head up high as he gives credit to Superlek in a post-fight message
Jonathan Haggerty credits Superlek for his well-earned victory after a humbling loss in Denver.
Haggerty made his way into the ring believing he could win his seventh straight bout overall with a knockout of his own. But Haggerty made an error he never thought would happen.
He thought he had hurt Superlek with a punch so he decided to close the distance but the Thai superstar countered him with a well-placed elbow to shut him down.
After surrendering his belt to Superlek, Haggerty took to Instagram to share the following message with the fans:
"Credit to him on a well-earned victory. Congratulations to Superlek, and thank you to all the incredible fans and everyone at ONE Championship for the love and support. This is just part of the journey."