"The closest fight I've had" - Jonathan Haggerty admits uncertainty in bantamweight move after struggling vs Vladimir Kuzmin
Jonathan Haggerty sighed with relief when the judges scored his bantamweight debut against Vladimir Kuzin in his favor. The odds were certainly stacked against Haggerty when he decided to compete 10 pounds heavier than his natural weight class at flyweight.
Many suggested that 'The General' was too small to be a bantamweight, but Haggerty felt like he had no other option but to take the risk.
After struggling to shed the pounds, Haggerty knew that his body would thank him for it if he made the appropriate changes.
Before heading into his first bantamweight Muay Thai fight, there were serious doubts about whether he could stand his ground against bigger guys.
Even after winning the bout by a close decision, Haggerty himself was uncertain about his decision.
Recalling his experience on Retrospect, Haggerty said:
"This was my bantamweight debut in ONE Championship against Vladimir Kuzmin. This was a very close fight. You know, in my opinion, it was the closest fight I've had. So after this fight, there were a lot of doubt; should I stay at bantamweight, or is it bantamweight for me? So it was up to me to prove them wrong."
Watch the full fight below:
Focusing on being a bantamweight Muay Thai fighter turned out to be the best decision of Haggerty's career.
He's been a bantamweight world champion in Muay Thai and kickboxing for the past year, and he's ready to extend his reign even further by defending his Muay Thai crown against Superlek Kiatmoo9 at ONE 168: Denver.
Tickets for ONE 168: Denver are available via Ticketmaster.
"I believe I will stop him" - Jonathan Haggerty is confident that he'll put a stop to Superlek's dominance at ONE 168: Denver
Double-world champion Jonathan Haggerty is heading into his next world title defense against Superlek with a lot more confidence than he had prior to their first encounter, which took place nearly half a decade ago.
When Haggerty first fought Superlek outside of the promotion, he was a relatively unknown name compared to his Thai counterpart. As he remembers, Superlek had over 100 bouts to his credit, while he only had a few.
Now, 'The General' believes that he's got what it takes to bring Superlek down on the world stage.
He told Sky Sports MMA Club:
"I probably had about 13 fights now I've experienced, I've got us both the belts and I believe I will stop him and I will beat him."