"I should have relaxed a little bit" - Jonathan Haggerty says overeagerness led to his downfall against Superlek
Jonathan Haggerty believes that he made a crucial mistake during the final preparations for his fight at ONE 168.
'The General' came into the Ball Arena in Denver looking to produce a career-best performance in his biggest fight to date. With the ONE bantamweight Muay Thai title on the line, he went head-to-head with Superlek Kiatmoo9 in one of the most anticipated fights of the year.
The fans tuned in expecting a high-stakes chess match. Instead, they got a fast finish thanks to the excellent timing of the challenger.
He made the correct read and as Haggerty looked to explode forward, halted his momentum with an elbow that closed the show.
The Brit spoke in an interview with the Sky Sports MMA Club Podcast several weeks after the fight about how his warm-up backstage could have contributed to this.
He said that when he made the walk to the cage, he was too eager and this contributed to his knockout loss:
"Like I said before, I felt great. In the back room, I think I warmed up a little bit too long. It was dragged out a little bit. I should have relaxed a little bit, but I was very eager to go for this one. I was ready to go, I was eager."
Jonathan Haggerty will learn from this mistake
Jonathan Haggerty is sure to bounce back even stronger from this setback as he has done throughout his career.
When you're facing an elite-level striker like Superlek, one minor mistake can cost you the fight and that's what happened to the Brit in Denver.
He was too predictable and aggressive with his offense and that saw him lose the ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world championship.
'The General' will look to respond by showing the next evolution of his game on his return to action.