“Just straight attack” - Jonathan Haggerty looks back at his historic world title win over the legendary Nong-O in Bangkok
Jonathan Haggerty has a resume stacked with the most impressive victories, but one stands out among the rest. The British superstar captured the biggest win of his career when he knocked out the legendary Nong-O Hama for the ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world title at ONE Fight Night 9 in April 2023.
In a snippet he shared on Instagram, Haggerty reminisced about the knockout win that practically cemented his place among the best of the current generation.
Jonathan Haggerty recalled how crucial it was to finish Nong-O in the opening round for the one-minute break heading into the second could've easily turned the tides toward the Thai legend.
He said:
"So I actually heard 10 seconds left in the round, so I thought I need to knock him out now or he's gonna recover where he goes to the corner and recover. You can see me pushing the ref out of the way telling him 'Let me go.'"
Haggerty added:
"There was no defense there for me, just straight attack. When he landed, ohh wild. When that happened, my dad comes up and grabs me, I pushed him away and said 'I f****** told you dad! I f****** told you I'd beat him.' To this day I always remember that."
Haggerty already knocked Nong-O down twice around two minutes into the first round and had all the momentum in the world to score a third one.
Bringing the fight to the ropes, Haggerty launched into a flurry and finished off Nong-O to claim the ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world championship in what was described as one of the biggest upsets in the sport's history.
Jonathan Haggerty defends bantamweight Muay Thai throne against Superlek in Denver
Jonathan Haggerty hasn't slowed down since he stunned Nong-O in Thailand.
'The General' became a two-sport world champion when he claimed the vacant ONE bantamweight kickboxing world title when he knocked out Fabricio Andrade, the ONE bantamweight MMA world champion, at ONE Fight Night 16.
He defended the bantamweight Muay Thai strap for the first time when he knocked out Andrade's training partner Felipe Lobo at ONE Fight Night 19.
Haggerty now heads into another super fight when he defends the bantamweight Muay Thai throne against Superlek Kiatmoo9, the ONE flyweight kickboxing world champion, at ONE 168: Denver.
The champion-versus-champion fight goes down on Sept. 6 at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado. Tickets for ONE 168: Denver are available at Ticketmaster.