“It’s a dream for me” - Jonathan Haggerty hopes he can one day headline a ONE Championship card in the UK
After conquering multiple sports in multiple divisions, reigning ONE bantamweight kickboxing world champion Jonathan Haggery has one dream yet untouched - bringing the biggest martial arts promotion in the world to UK soil.
The 28-year-old striker has done it all on the global stage. But there's something special about fighting at home, and Haggerty says headlining a UK card would be a full-circle moment:
"Yeah, it’s a dream for me too, to get all the supporters from the UK to come to the venue," Haggerty told the South China Morning Post. "It’ll be great. We just have to wait and see what Chatri wants, and hopefully very soon."
With ONE Championship's rapid expansion into new regions, the prospect of a UK fight is only a matter of time. As to when... well, we'll have to wait to find out.
Watch the full interview below:
Lyndon Knowles keeping his fingers crossed for all-UK hit between Nico Carrillo and Jonathan Haggerty: “Definitely would be fun”
ONE Championship only recently welcomed new UK heavyweight hitter 'Knowlesy' Lyndon Knowles, brother to Jonathan Haggerty's longtime Christian Knowles. But with his behind-the-scenes role at Haggerty's camp, he's already thinking about the kind of matchups that could headline a UK card.
And at the top of his list is an all-UK clash between Nico Carrillo and Jonathan Haggerty:
"The buildup would be unbelievable, I think," Knowles told the South China Morning Post. "There’s definitely a bit of rivalry there, what’s always good for a buildup."
To add to the buildup, there was a bit of tension simmering between Nico Carrillo and Jonathan Haggerty back at ONE 170, when Haggerty picked the wrong time to mouth off at Carrillo while the Scotsman was drained and in a mid-sauna cut.
Carrillo has since said there's no bad blood between them - but you don't need to be enemies to have a bit of friendly rivalry.