“It was a bit bittersweet” - Jonathan Haggerty says he was overcome with emotion after putting Nong-O to sleep
Jonathan Haggerty's earth-shattering knockout of Thai legend Nong-O Hama was a bittersweet moment for the UK superstar.
After making a name for himself in the flyweight Muay Thai division, 'The General' decided it was time to take over another division, Haggerty did exactly that at ONE Fight Night 9, securing a win over ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world champion Nong-O Hama to snatch his second world title after achieving that feat in the discipline's flyweight division.
After sitting down Nong-O with a nasty right hand two minutes into the opening round, Haggerty finished things off with an onslaught of strikes against the ropes, sending the Thai crashing to the canvas for the final time.
Looking back on his world title-winning performance during a career retrospective on his YouTube channel, Jonathan Haggerty admitted that seeing a legend like Nong-O fall by his hands was a poignant moment in his career.
"In that bit there, when I knocked him out, I was literally holding him off. And I was creating space for my uppercuts, my elbows and everything was just landing sweetly. So when he went down, it wasn't nice to see, like I said, but at the same time, it was a bit bittersweet. It was like, yes, it's done, and the new, and the new."
Jonathan Haggerty set to defend his Muay Thai title against Superlek at ONE 168: Denver
Since taking home the ONE bantamweight Muay Thai belt, Jonathan Haggerty has added another 26 pounds of gold to his collection, scoring a sensational second-round knockout against Fabricio Andrade to capture the vacant ONE bantamweight kickboxing crown.
On Friday, September 6, 'The General' will return to the cage when the promotion heads back to the United States for ONE 168: Denver, emanating from Ball Arena in The Mile High City.
There, Jonathan Haggerty will put his bantamweight Muay Thai strap up for grabs against one of the most dangerous strikers in all of combat sports — Superlek Kiatmoo9.
Sitting as the reigning ONE flyweight kickboxing world champion, 'The Kicking Machine' has never lost in the art of eight limbs under the ONE banner. He'll look to keep it that way when he steps into the spotlight at one of the biggest events of the year.
Follow this link for tickets for ONE 168: Denver on September 6 at Ball Arena.