"People want the Hitman" - Liam Harrison doesn't want to bring 'a watered-down sh*tty old version' of himself at ONE 167
Liam Harrison doesn't want to be anywhere below 100 percent when he returns to the global stage of martial arts.
The Leeds slugger, who's built a reputation as one of the most exciting Muay Thai fighters to watch, is adamant that he wants to deliver a trademark performance and wrap his comeback fight in style at ONE 167.
That evening, the 38-year-old martial arts icon squares off against Katsuki Kitano in a bantamweight Muay Thai duel inside the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand.
After a couple of delays over the past year in regards to his fight to full fitness, 'Hitman' is beyond thrilled to get back into the thick of the action.
Speaking to Sportskeeda MMA, Liam Harrison offered:
"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*tty old version of itself. People want the Hitman."
Moreover, with the fight taking place in the fight capital of the world, Liam Harrison knows the last thing fans would want to see is another boring fight between two reserved strikers, which seems very unlikely on paper given Kitano and Harrison's tendency to participate in all-out wars.
The Bad Company representative went on to add:
"They [the Thailand fans] want knockout punches, they want horrible leg kicks, and if I can't give that, why would I f***ing go out there and say 'Right, get me Haggerty, get me Nico!' and just embarrass myself, you know what I mean? I'm not about that."
Watch Liam Harrison's full podcast alongside Sportskeeda's Nick Atkin and Kyle Dimond here:
Liam Harrison joins other big names at ONE 167
ONE Championship's return to the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand, has been bolstered with some thrilling contests from top to bottom.
Per the ONE 167 event page on onefc.com, the June 7 bill has six confirmed fights, with more expected to be announced in the coming weeks.
Kade Ruotolo makes his MMA debut in a lightweight scrap against Blake Cooper, while Malaysian-American sensation Johan Ghazali dukes it out against Vietnamese dynamo Nguyen Tran Duy Nhat in flyweight Muay Thai action.
Meanwhile, old foes Mikey Musumeci and Gabriel Sousa meet in a bantamweight submission grappling matchup. Musumeci's ONE flyweight submission grappling world title will not be on the line.
In one of two massive world title headliners, Stamp Fairtex and close pal Denice Zamboanga go toe-to-toe in a ONE atomweight MMA world championship tilt.
At the top of the bill, ONE featherweight Muay Thai world champion Tawanchai PK Saenchai defends his gold against fellow countryman Jo Nattawut. This will be the pair's second fight after the former came out on top in their kickboxing contest at ONE Fight Night 15 in October last year.