WATCH: Jonathan Haggerty punishes Vladimir Kuzmin with a textbook roundhouse kick in his first fight above flyweight limit
In November 2022, Jonathan Haggerty officially made his move up in weight class when he fought Vladimir Kuzmin at ONE on Prime Video 4 in a catchweight fight after he tallied four wins and six losses in the flyweight division.
One of the major highlights of that fight between Haggerty and Kuzmin was reposted by the promotion on Instagram, and they captioned it with:
"Always one step ahead ☝️ Can Jonathan Haggerty outstrike Superlek on September 6 when he defends the ONE Bantamweight Muay Thai World Title at ONE 168: Denver? 👑 @jhaggerty_"
As seen in the video, 'The General' connected a classic roundhouse kick straight to the Russian's chin, which stunned him momentarily. Haggerty used a classic technique of faking a leg kick to catch Kuzmin off guard and make him drop his hands.
It was an exciting back-and-forth between the two striking sensations, but eventually, the British combat sports superstar won the judges' nod via a majority decision.
This outstanding performance by Haggerty earned him the shot against Nong-O Hama for the ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world title.
Jonathan Haggerty looks to record his second successful world title defense at ONE 168: Denver
Haggerty maximized his shot against Nong-O to become the new king of the division in April 2024. He then secured two more wins over Fabricio Andrade and Felipe Lobo to become a two-sport world champion and retain the Muay Thai crown.
Now, the Keddles Gym, Knowlesy Academy, and Team Undergorund representative wants to extend his reign as the unquestioned king of the weight class as he defends his world title against Superlek Kiatmoo9 on September 6 at ONE 168: Denver in front of the Ball Arena crowd in Colorado.
ONE 168: Denver will transpire from the Ball Arena in U.S. primetime on Sept. 6. Tickets for the event are available on Ticketmaster.