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2023 has been filled with plenty of upsets and talking points inside the ONE Championship Circle.
None did it better than Jonathan Haggerty, who caused a massive upset against Muay Thai legend Nong-O Hama to claim the ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world title this past April.
In the lead-up to their five-round thriller, the London native vowed to come guns blazing into his fourth world championship tie under the ONE Championship banner.
Nong-O reigned over the weight class with a pristine 10-0 record, holding the divisional gold for 1,526 days. With that in mind, many predicted that the legendary striker would go on to have a field day against Haggerty, who had never faced anyone of his caliber.
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Those very same people were in for a rude awakening, though, as ‘The General’ needed only 160 seconds to put Nong-O away en route to a career-defining victory.
Both men gave it their all from the sound of the bell, charging in with heavy leather at a blistering pace.
The Brit’s heavy boxing combinations, however, were finding a home more consistently, and in a matter of seconds, it proved to be the decisive factor that bagged him his second ONE Championship world title.
He went on to do what no man had even come close to achieving – send the striking icon onto the canvas, not once, not twice, but thrice, before he was covered in gold confetti and earned a performance bonus.
It will be a moment that will live long in the memory of combat sports fans. As such, we couldn’t look past Haggerty’s win as the most shocking upset inside the ONE Championship Circle this year.
Haggerty’s 2023 in ONE Championship was pure magic
To start off his 2023 campaign with a monumental win was special, but Haggerty added onto his legacy when he went toe-to-toe with Fabricio Andrade at ONE Fight Night 16 in November.
Again, there were question marks over ‘The General’s' ability to perform or carry over his trademark power in bigger gloves against Andrade, who started his martial arts journey through kickboxing prior to his ONE Championship tenure.
Despite the odds being stacked against him yet again, the 26-year-old Londoner dominated his Brazilian foe before putting him to sleep just before the two-minute mark of the second round to claim the vacant ONE bantamweight kickboxing world title and become a two-sport champion.
The sky seems to be the limit for Haggerty now, and many are eager to see how the Englishman will fare when ONE Championship kicks off another new year, with plenty of big plans in store.
For his part, the London-based fighter is keen to complete his three-sport quest when he returns on the global stage in 2024.
