"I take it as a compliment" - Two-sport king Jonathan Haggerty on having a massive target on his back
Jonathan Haggerty reigns supreme as the king of two different divisions that are full of hungry contenders.
2023 saw 'The General' take command of both the ONE bantamweight Muay Thai and kickboxing world championships.
Having already defended his Muay Thai crown in a fight of the year contender against Felipe Lobo at ONE Fight Night 19, Haggerty knows that the challenges won't stop coming from here.
The Brit is constantly being called out by contenders who want a shot at either one of his titles and this comes with the territory of being a two-sport world champion.
Haggerty takes this in his stride as he understands that being a champion comes with the responsibility of being hunted by the contenders in the division.
The champ told Sky Sports in a recent interview that he doesn't let it get to him and enjoys being the prize that a lot of fighters are after:
"But I take it as a compliment, a massive compliment. Everyone wants to fight me, it's just up to me now just to perform and keep on the winning streak."
There are no breaks for Jonathan Haggerty as a world champion
This line of contenders that Jonathan Haggerty has queued up in front of him isn't going anywhere and the champion is well aware of this.
The challenges are coming at him thick and fast following his first fight of the year at ONE Fight Night 19 where he stopped Lobo in devastating fashion.
Now he turns his attention to Denver where he will try to defend his kickboxing crown and get revenge in the process.
At ONE 168 on Sept. 6, he faces flyweight kickboxing king Superlek Kiatmoo9, who along with being recognized as one of the best in the world, has a win over Haggerty from many years ago.
The world champion knew what he was signing up for when he lifted the two gold belts up onto his shoulders and now it is becoming a reality.
ONE 168 will air live in U.S. primetime from the Ball Arena in Denver.