Jonathan Haggerty suggests things could have been worse if he survived Superlek’s match-winning elbow: “Who knows?”
Despite suffering a brutal 49-second knockout loss at ONE 168: Denver, Jonathan Haggerty believes things could have gone worse.
Heading to The Mile High City as a two-sport ONE world champion, 'The General' was relieved of his duties as the ONE bantamweight Muay Thai titleholder via a perfectly timed inside elbow from his opponent—Superlek Kiatmoo9.
'The Kicking Machine' caught Haggerty moving in with the sneaky strike and put the Brit away in the opening minute to become the promotion's newest two-sport king.
Looking back on the nasty knockout loss, Haggerty revealed that he likely could have continued, but believes another heavy shot could have resulted in serious damage.
"The fighter in me, definitely," Haggerty said. "I’ve been down before. I definitely could have got carried on, but who knows? It might have been one shot away from like bad damage, so grateful."
Though Jonathan Haggerty lost his bantamweight Muay Thai belt, 'The General' is the reigning ONE bantamweight kickboxing world champion—a belt he hopes to defend in the future.
Jonathan Haggerty embarrassed by 49-second knockout loss in The Mile High City
Expecting a knockdown drag-out brawl with 'The Kicking Machine' in Denver, Jonathan Haggerty admitted to being a little embarrassed by the quick finish he suffered at one of the biggest events of the year.
But more than anything, he was disappointed.
"I was a little bit, I wouldn’t say embarrassed, but disappointed. A little bit embarrassed as well, if I’d say so because it was very early in the round, like 49 seconds. I’m not sure if I should have been embarrassed, but it was one of them things where I felt like I let everyone down at that time, that moment."
Obviously, the result wasn't the one he envisioned, even in defeat. Still, the 27-year-old fan favorite is keeping his chin up and has already promised to come back even stronger in his next outing.
If you missed any of the action, ONE Championship fans in the United States and Canada can watch the ONE 168: Denver replay on demand via Amazon Prime Video.