"I know what I'm facing" - Jonathan Haggerty preparing for the 'brutal' kicks of challenger Superlek
Reigning ONE bantamweight Muay Thai and kickboxing world champion Jonathan Haggerty knows his next fight will be the toughest of his career by far.
On September 6, in the promotion's return to the United States at ONE 168: Denver, the British slugger will put his bantamweight Muay Thai crown on the line against Superlek Kiatmoo9.
Having faced Superlek early on in his career, Haggerty knows he'll need to bring his A-Game to outclass the brilliant flyweight kickboxing world champion.
For starters, he must find a way to neutralize Superlek's best weapons, which happens to be his destructive kicks from all angles.
'The General' said in an appearance on the Sky Sports MMA Club on Spotify:
"He's just brutal. They called him 'The Kicking Machine'. So I know what I'm facing already. I know what I'm gonna do - block his kick."
Finding a way to stop Superlek's kick-heavy barrage is indeed much easier said than done. The Thai tactician loves to chop down his foes' lower half with punishing leg and body kicks.
Once they let their guard down, Superlek can easily go high and unleash his head kicks, which have been the bane of some of the toughest strikers in the world.
Meanwhile, Jonathan Haggerty is supremely confident that his concussive punches and slicing elbows should give Superlek a run for his money in their gargantuan showdown.
Jonathan Haggerty believes he has an ace up his sleeve vs Superlek
In the same interview, Jonathan Haggerty revealed why fighting Superlek in America is quite advantageous for him.
For one, the two-sport kingpin thinks the Thai megastar will struggle outside of Thailand, saying:
"Me and my trainer said this, ‘We believe the Thais don’t really like to travel, they don’t travel well, so we’re going to be prepared. We’re going to spend the last four weeks of fight camp out in America to be fully prepared."
ONE 168 will take place at Ball, Arena in Denver, Colorado. The full event will air live in US Primetime, free for Prime Video subscribers in North America.