“I had high hopes” - Superlek reveals his confidence was at its peak heading into Denver war against Jonathan Haggerty
Two-sport king Superlek Kiatmoo9 felt as confident as ever during his clash with Jonathan Haggerty at ONE 168: Denver.
After earning big wins against Nabil Anane, Tagir Khalilov, Kongthoranee Sor Sommai, and 'The Iron Man' Rodtang Jitmuangnon, 'The Kicking Machine' was ready to add a Muay Thai world title to his collection. He did exactly that in The Mile High City, scoring a quickfire KO against 'The General' to bring the ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world championship back to Thailand.
Looking back on his stunning 49-second victory over Haggerty in the United States, Superlek had high hopes of winning the title and establishing himself as one of the best in the art of eight limbs.
"I felt happy because it's a belt I've wanted for a long time [in] Muay Thai," he said in a recent interview with Yokkao. "I've been doing Muay Thai for over 20 years, it's my foundation, so I had high hopes of securing this belt."
Superlek's victory over 'The General' moved him to a perfect 11-0 in Muay Thai competition under the ONE banner, earning him his 139th career overall victory.
If you missed any of the action, ONE Championship fans in the United States and Canada can watch the ONE 168: Denver replay on demand via Amazon Prime Video.
Jonathan Haggerty reflects on brutal knockout loss to Superlek in Denver
Understandably, Jonathan Haggerty was left heartbroken by the loss to 'The Kicking Machine' in Denver. Reflecting on the knockout loss during an appearance on the Sky Sports MMA Club podcast, Haggerty said:
"I wanted to perform the best I could and that was the hardest part, really. Knowing how hard I really trained, me and my coach, the time he's taken out from his family, myself, my girlfriend. We took a lot of time out to dedicate our craft for this fight.
"That was the hard part, just not being able to show what we were going in there to do and getting caught so early."
Though Haggerty surrendered his ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world title, he is still the holder of the ONE bantamweight kickboxing crown—a division that has a plethora of world-class contenders, including Wei Rui, former titleholder Hiroki Akimoto, Petchtanong, Alaverdi Ramazanov, and Thai legend Nong-O Hama.
Who would you like to see Haggerty square off with when he makes his return to the Circle?