ONE Championship: Jonathan Haggerty suggests road to reclaim bantamweight Muay Thai crown will start with Nong-O redo
Jonathan Haggerty will do whatever it takes to get the ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world title back—even if that means a rematch with Nong-O.
Last year, 'The General' kickstarted his reign as the bantamweight division's top dog with an earth-shattering knockout of Nong-O at ONE Fight Night 9. Last month, Haggerty's run with the 26 pounds of Muay Thai gold came to a crashing halt courtesy of a perfectly timed elbow less than a minute into his ONE 168: Denver headliner against Superlek Kiatmoo9.
Though he still sits as the ONE bantamweight kickboxing king, Haggerty still dreams of wrapping the Muay Thai title around his waist once again.
Appearing on the Sky Sports MMA Club podcast, 'The General' is eager to jump right back into the mix, whether it be an immediate rematch with 'The Kicking Machine' or a scrap with the division's top-ranked contender, Nico Carrillo.
But if neither of those are on the table, he's more than happy to run it back with Nong-O.
"If I wasn’t going to get the number one or the title shot next, there’s obviously Nong-O again," Haggerty said.
Jonathan Haggerty finds himself in a sea of contenders looking for their shot against Superlek
With Superlek currently holding the ONE flyweight kickboxing world title and now the ONE bantamweight Muay Thai crown, there are plenty of contenders lining up and looking for their shot at one of the Thai superstar's two belts.
One of the biggest fights on the minds of fans is a rematch with Rodtang Jitmuangnon. Superlek and 'The Iron Man' delivered one of the greatest scraps in the history of Muay Thai in September 2023—a fight that saw Superlek come out on top via unanimous decision.
K-1 kickboxing legend Takeru Segawa is also chomping at the bit to run it back with Superlek after the pair went five rounds in January.
Then there are new challengers, like streaking knockout artist Nico Carrillo who could very well be the next man in line for a shot at the bantamweight Muay Thai title with back-to-back wins over Nong-O and Saemapetch.
Should Jonathan Haggerty get an immediate rematch, or will 'The General' have to go to the back of the line and work his way up once again?
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.