“He's a very great fighter” - Jonathan Haggerty excited to see how rising star Kiamran Nabati does against Nong-O

Former two-sport king and current ONE bantamweight kickboxing world champion 'The General' Jonathan Haggerty of the United Kingdom is coming off a heartbreaking defeat to Thai megastar 'The Kicking Machine' Superlek Kiatmoo9 last weekend.

Haggerty lost his bantamweight Muay Thai gold after Superlek ended his reign early with a counter elbow that separated 'The General' from his sense in just 49 seconds.

The packed Ball Arena crowd at ONE 168: Denver were in utter shock to see it happen live. However, Haggert is in good spirits.

In fact, the brash Englishman is already looking forward to watching ONE Championship's upcoming pay-per-view event in Thailand -- ONE Friday Fights 81: Superbon vs. Nattawut.

That's because there are two guys on the card who he's interested in watching closely.

Former bantamweight Muay Thai king Nong-O Hama is set to face Kiamran Nabati at ONE Friday Fights 81, and Haggerty is excited to see it unfold.

He told South China Morning Post in a recent interview:

"Yeah, I've seen a few things on [Kiamran Nabati] now. He's a very great fighter. I feel like Nong-O's going to, he's going to come. I think Nong-O has lost two in a row now, is it two in a row? I think he's coming back. He's coming back for the title contention. So that'd be a great fight."

Fans in the United States and Canada can catch ONE Friday Fights 81 live via global pay-per-view on watch.onefc.com.

Jonathan Haggerty keeping a close eye on Hiroki Akimoto vs. Ilias Ennahachi

Another fight 'The General' Jonathan Haggerty is keeping tabs on at ONE Friday Fights 81, is the matchup between Hiroki Akimoto and Ilias Ennahachi, both men who have held the kickboxing strap.

Haggerty told SCMP:

"Yeah, that's a great fight, very exciting fight, both in title contentions. Yeah, I'll be watching that very closely. So yeah, that'd be a great fight, a great match-up. I'm excited to see Ilias's comeback fight at bantamweight now. I feel like Ennahachi wins."