“A great, worthy opponent” - Jonathan Haggerty honored to have Wei Rui as his first kickboxing world title challenger

ONE bantamweight kickboxing world champion Jonathan Haggerty is looking forward to taking on challenger Wei Rui in their scheduled title match next week. He considers his opponent very worthy of a world title shot and someone he and his team are preparing for.

'The General' makes his first defense of the bantamweight kickboxing gold at ONE 171: Qatar on Feb. 20 against Wei at the Lusail Sports Arena in Lusail. It comes over a year since he ascended to the division's throne.

In an interview with the Inside Fighting podcast, which dropped earlier this month, Haggerty shared his thoughts on his challenger, including how they have studied Wei's game.

The 27-year-old British champion said:

"He’s obviously a great, worthy opponent. He’s the number one in the division for a reason. He beat [Hiroki] Akimoto, close fight, very close fight. Obviously, my coach has been paying close attention to the fights that he’s had. We’ve been going through a great game plan and, obviously, we know he’s a southpaw."

Watch Jonathan Haggerty's interview below:

Apart from retaining his kickboxing world title belt, Jonathan Haggerty enters ONE 171 with added motivation after losing the bantamweight Muay Thai gold, which he also previously held, in his last match in September in the United States, and his standing as a two-sport world champion.

Wei, meanwhile, seeks to add his name to ONE Championship's roster of champions while maintaining his impressive winning streak, which currently stands at 21 straight. He is coming off an impressive ONE debut in May last year, where he defeated former bantamweight kickboxing king Hiroki Akimoto by decision.

For more information on ONE 171: Qatar, check out onefc.com.

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Jonathan Haggerty confident of beating Wei Rui at ONE 171

While he has high regard for Wei Rui as world title challenger, Jonathan Hagerty is confident of being able to handle him in their showdown at ONE 171: Qatar and remain as bantamweight kickboxing king.

The Orpington, England native shared this in an interview with ONE Championship, highlighting how he has the skills set and the game plan to take Wei head-on.

He said:

"He beat [former world champion] Hiroki Akimoto, who is great opposition in his own right. So, we are not taking him lightly. But we do think we can do a demolition job on him for sure."

Haggerty-Wei serves as the headlining match at ONE 171, which marks the return of ONE Championship to Qatar for the second straight year.