WATCH: Jonathan Haggerty lands the perfect teep kick in electrifying world title defense over Wei Rui at ONE 171

ONE bantamweight kickboxing world champion Jonathan Haggerty could not have asked for a more perfect birthday celebration than by defending the throne against Wei Rui at ONE 171: Qatar on Thursday, Feb. 20.

After turning 28 a few days ago, 'The General' showcased his striking pedigree with a perfectly executed teep kick to the Chinese challenger's face late in the fourth round.

The world's largest martial arts promotion shared a slow-mo video of the maneuver on Instagram to better highlight the excellence in its execution, with the accompanying caption:

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"Hagger-TEEP to the face from "The General" 🦶💥"

For those not in the loop, the teep kick is a signature technique that the Keddles Gym and Knowlesy Academy product throws when his opponent has their hands low, which 'Demon Blade' did at that point in the fight.

Unlike in his past outings, Haggerty took a more calculated and cerebral approach to defend the gold against Wei, which points to the next evolution in the United Kingdom megastar's game.

Haggerty retained the ONE bantamweight kickboxing crown via unanimous decision.

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Jonathan Haggerty lives up to promise made ahead of ONE 171

Jonathan Haggerty promised he would fight more methodically against Wei Rui, which he declared in an interview with the Bangkok Post before ONE 171. The 28-year-old had stated:

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"The first thing I'm not gonna do is rush in. So, [I'm gonna] take my time, enjoy it - that's the main thing. I'm gonna enjoy it in there. Like you said, he's going to try to come for the points victory, but it's up to me to put a full stop and a demolition job."

Watch the entire interview here:

The full replay of ONE 171 is available to fans who purchased the pay-per-view at watch.onefc.com.

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