Liam Harrison says he’s taking ‘one step at a time’ in the lead-up to ONE 167 return against Katsuki Kitano
Veteran Muay Thai fighter Liam Harrison said he is not going to over-extend himself as he makes his way back from a knee injury that has sidelined him for nearly two years.
'Hitman' will be making his long-awaited return to action at ONE 167: Stamp vs Zamboanga on June 7 at the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand. He will be going up against Katsuki Kitano of Japan in a bantamweight Muay Thai battle.
It will be his first fight since August 2022, when he injured his knee during his title clash with former ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world champion Nong-O Hama.
In a recent interview with Sportskeeda MMA, the 38-year-old Bad Company standout shared his mindset at this stage of his career heading into his comeback fight.
The Leeds, England native said:
"I'm gonna look to knock Kitano out. And if I knock him out, well, when I knock him out, I'm not going to jump on the mic and go right, 'I'm back, you better get me a title fight.' I'm going to take it slowly, one step at a time. I'm going to listen to me body because I'm 38."
Watch the interview below:
Liam Harrison has been with ONE Championship since 2018 and is one of the top strikers in the promotion.
Meanwhile, Kitano got his ONE journey going back in October, winning unanimously over Dutch fighter Halil Kutukcu in his promotional debut.
ONE 167 is available live and for free in U.S. primetime on June 7 to North American fans via Amazon Prime Video.
Liam Harrison vows to put on a show at ONE 167
British striker Liam Harrison believes fans have long been waiting for his return to action and vows to put on a show in his scheduled comeback in June.
The 38-year-old fighter takes the ONE Championship Circle once against at ONE 167: Stamp vs Zamboanga on June 7 at the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand, against Japanese Katsuki Kitano in a bantamweight Muay Thai showdown. It comes nearly two years since he was last in action when he injured his knee during a match.
It took a while for Liam Harrison to come back because he wanted to be fully fit in his return to give fight fans something to look forward to, and now he is ready to go.
He shared to Sportskeeda MMA in an interview:
"It's been a hard road back getting to here, mentally and physically, just trying to get me sent back for my body to feel how it felt before. Because people don't pay money to watch me fight and watch some watered-down sh**ty old version of itself. People want the Hitman."
ONE 167 is headlined by the ONE atomweight MMA world title fight between reigning champion Stamp Fairtex against Filipino challenger Denice Zamboanga.