ONE Championship: “A name I’d like to get on my resume” - Jonathan Haggerty admits he was intrigued by a potential showdown with John Lineker

“A name I’d like to get on my resume” - Jonathan Haggerty admits he was intrigued by a potential showdown with John Lineker

By Dan Paulo Errazo

Modified Apr 11, 2025 08:09 GMT

Jonathan Haggerty and John Lineker - Photo by ONE Championship

Reigning ONE bantamweight kickboxing world champion and former Muay Thai king 'The General' Jonathan Haggerty had been steadily growing interest in potentially squaring off with former MMA champion 'Hands of Stone' John Lineker.

A previous ONE bantamweight MMA world titleholder, Lineker made the transition to 'the art of eight limbs' to massive success. 'Hands of Stone' carried his unyielding power to a different martial art discipline, much to the excitement of Muay Thai fans all over the world.

Not only that, but Lineker also transitioned to kickboxing, albeit in a losing effort against former bantamweight kickboxing king Hiroki Akimoto at ONE 172 late last month.

Speaking to South China Morning Post in a recent interview, Haggerty talked about how excited he was at the prospect of facing Lineker, before 'Hands of Stone' ran into some difficulties.

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'The General' said:

"Akimoto just won. I wanted to fight John Lineker, if I’m honest, because it’s a name I’d like to get on my resume, but yeah, we just have to wait and see."

ONE 172: Takeru vs. Rodtang took place live from the iconic Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan, on Sunday, March 23. Fans in the United States and Canada can catch all the action via replay on-demand on watch.onefc.com.

What's next for Jonathan Haggerty?

'The General' Jonathan Haggerty of the United Kingdom is coming off a resounding five-round unanimous decision victory over Chinese veteran 'Demon Blade' Wei Rui at ONE 171: Qatar last February.

Haggerty is back in the win column and could be looking to make another defense of his gold soon. However, 'The General' has also expressed interest in reclaiming his bantamweight Muay Thai gold, which he lost to Superlek Kiatmoo9 last year.

That would mean potentially facing interim titleholder Nabil Anane for the undisputed world title.

Stay tuned to Sportskeeda MMA for all the latest news and updates surrounding Jonathan Haggerty's next fight.

About the author

Dan is an MMA writer with 10+ years of overall experience. Before his ongoing tenure at Sportskeeda, Dan got the opportunity to be at the forefront of the sport by contributing to ONE Championship and Fight Game Asia. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology.

Dan’s connection to MMA started during the early days of the UFC and ONE Championship. He previously practiced boxing and ranks Demetrious Johnson, Anderson Silva, Georges St-Pierre, Jon Jones, and Fedor Emelianenko as the top five MMA fighters of all time.

He has covered several events onsite and on the ground for ONE Championship and hopes to continue doing so. He ensures that he churns out accurate articles by citing only legitimate sources and getting firsthand accounts through exclusive interviews whenever required.

Dan feels MMA fighter pay seems like an issue because it often gets compared to what fighters earn in boxing but that MMA will eventually catch up in the future.

His other interests include soccer and video games.

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Edited by C. Naik