"It put me on the map" - Jonathan Haggerty looks back at his sublime downward elbow against Joseph Lasiri in his ONE debut
Reigning ONE bantamweight Muay Thai and kickboxing world champion Jonathan Haggerty has reached heights that few could ever dream of at his age. The 27-year-old's incredible run under the ONE Championship banner all began in January 2019 against Moroccan-Italian star Joseph Lasiri.
'The General' knocked down 'The Hurricane' with an electrifying downward elbow with less than 20 seconds remaining in the opening round.
Haggerty appeared to be reminiscent of this moment in a video shared by ONE on Instagram which can be viewed below.
Haggerty said:
"And there's the iconic downward elbow. I think that elbow was the one that put me on the map. That's the move that everyone loved. And I remember after landing that shot, social media went mad. It worked wonders. It put me on the map."
The United Kingdom star ultimately won the bout via unanimous decision and would go on to post a record of 8-2 in ONE.
This past February, Haggerty produced a come-from-behind TKO victory against Felipe Lobo to successfully defend the ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world championship.
He will look to make it a second successful defense inside the Ball Arena at ONE 168: Denver on September 6 against ONE flyweight kickboxing world champion Superlek Kiatmoo9.
Jonathan Haggerty admits fighting Superlek in 2018 was a mistake
The Keddles Gym, Knowlesy Academy and Team Underground fighter first crossed paths with 'The Kicking Machine' back in 2018 outside of ONE and unfortunately succumbed to a second-round TKO defeat by way of a doctor's stoppage.
Jonathan Haggerty acknowledged that he bit off too much too soon during an interview with ONE commentator Mitch Chilson at ONE Friday Fights 72:
"It was a little too soon in my career. But, you know, I usually take fights offered to me, take risks once in a while."
Tickets for ONE 168 are available via Ticketmaster.