Two-sport conqueror Jonathan Haggerty says transition to MMA will take place only 'once the time's right'
Two-sport king Jonathan Haggerty is ready to up his status on the grandest stage of martial arts, but he refuses to rush matters in case anything backfires.
The Londoner has been in pristine form over the past year, and his pair of ONE bantamweight world titles in Muay Thai and kickboxing serve as proof of why he's right at the top of the striking realm today.
He'll have a chance to further back that theory when he defends his Muay Thai crown against Superlek Kiatmoo9 at ONE 168: Denver on September 6 in U.S. primetime. Perhaps, if he can slot in another successful world title defense in kickboxing, MMA could be next on the cards.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Jonathan Haggerty touched on an ideal timeframe for his potential switch to the all-encompassing discipline.
The 27-year-old said:
"I'll stay level-headed and once the time's right, then the time will be right, I will transition over [to MMA]."
After all, this approach seems to have worked wonders for the Knowlesy Academy and Team Underground affiliate. 'The General' has always refused to bite more than he can chew, diligently working his way back into the world title picture before a blistering 2023.
Across two fights last year, the English striker knocked out fellow ONE world champions, Nong-O Hama and Fabricio Andrade, to join an elite list of two-sport world champions in the world's largest martial arts organization.
Jonathan Haggerty targets an old foe for three-sport supremacy
Jonathan Haggerty has a rematch on his mind to become a three-sport world champion in ONE Championship.
At ONE Fight Night 16 last year, the 27-year-old met ONE bantamweight MMA world champion Andrade for the vacant kickboxing strap. Haggerty finished the Evolve MMA and Tiger Muay Thai athlete at 1:57 of the second round.
Now, he wants to run it back with the Brazilian knockout specialist to make history and join Stamp as one of two three-sport rulers on the global stage.
In a past interview with Sports Illustrated, Jonathan Haggerty had this to say on attaining the last piece of the jigsaw:
"Next, I want Andrade's MMA belt. I want to be ONE's MMA bantamweight champion."