“I need to take a step back” - Jonathan Haggerty says defending two belts is his priority before possible MMA transition
ONE bantamweight Muay Thai and kickboxing world champion Jonathan Haggerty sees a possible transition to MMA at some point in the future but is focusing on holding on to his two world titles for now.
'The General' told The Sporting News this week that he previously contemplated making a go at the ONE bantamweight MMA gold, which is in the possession of Brazilian champion Fabricio Andrade. He eventually decided against it, seeing the need to set straight his priorities first and recognizing that 'Wonder Boy' was not yet ready to give him a title shot.
Jonathan Haggerty said:
"[After I won the kickboxing title], I wanted to fight Fabricio for his MMA belt as soon as possible. [Eventually] I just thought, I need to take a step back now. I don't think he was up for giving me the opportunity."
Jonathan Haggerty defeated Andrade by knockout in the second round for the vacant ONE bantamweight kickboxing world title in November last year. The win thrust him to double ONE world champion status.
Jonathan Haggerty to defend Muay Thai gold against Superlek at ONE 168
As he awaits for the most opportune time to transition to MMA, Jonathan Haggerty will defend the ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world title on Sept. 6 at ONE 168 in Denver, Colorado, U.S.A.
He will take on the challenge of flyweight kickboxing king Superlek Kiatmoo9 at the event, happening at the 21,000-seater Ball Arena in Denver and airing live and for free in U.S. primetime to North America fans with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription.
It will be Haggerty's second defense of the world title he won in April last year after his third-round TKO win over Brazilian challenger Felipe Lobo back in February.
Entering ONE 168, Haggerty is a winner of his last six matches, the last three all having world title repercussions.
Meanwhile, out to cut his reign and push his double ONE world champion bid is Superlek, who is also on a roll, winning his last 10 matches. His latest victory was over fellow Thai fighter Kongthoranee Sor Sommai by unaninous decision in June in a flyweight Muay Thai showdown.
Tickes for ONE 168: Denver are available for purchase on Ticketmaster.