"Nobody has done it like that" - Jonathan Haggerty recalls the surreal feeling of ending Nong-O's reign of terror
ONE Fight Night 9 will forever be a moment that Jonathan Haggerty looks back at with a lot of fond memories.
That night at Lumpinee Stadium will always be a defining chapter of his career as he became a two-time world champion in ONE.
There weren't many that were giving 'The General' much of a chance of leaving the main event with the ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world championship wrapped around his waist.
The champion, Nong-O Hama, had been on an unstoppable run of 10 consecutive victories.
What made this fight even more worrying for the challenger was that the elite Thai striker was starting to put opponents away also.
However, when they collided, it was Haggerty who found the killing blow as he dropped his opponent in the first round and went on to stop him.
Haggerty reflected on the fight during a recent YouTube video:
"Nobody [has] done it like [that]. Nobody has beaten Nong-O, let alone knock him out. And the doubt there was of me getting there, and me beating him, nobody thought I could win this fight. Everybody fights to get the knockout, it's what everyone wants to see, a knockout. But sometimes it doesn't happen. But when it does happen, you're like, it's the cherry on top, you know?"
Watch the full video below:
Jonathan Haggerty showed himself to be better than ever
Moving to bantamweight ended up being a massively beneficial change for Jonathan Haggerty and it showed in this fight.
After leaving flyweight behind, he carries so much more force behind his shots that he was able to drop Nong-O without swinging wildly.
It was perhaps his biggest win to date but with both men continuing to do what they do best, there could even be one more chapter between them in the near future.
For now, Haggerty is set to defend Nong-O's former title in the main event of ONE 168 against Superlek on September 6 with tickets available via Ticketmaster.
As for his former foe and the previous world champion, he's back in action on September 27 at ONE Friday Fights 81, where he faces Kiamran Nabati.