Fabricio Andrade says ‘Muay Thai-heavy’ Jonathan Haggerty will struggle without elbows under kickboxing rules

Reigning ONE bantamweight MMA world Fabricio Andrade believes Jonathan Haggerty will be at a disadvantage once their paths officially cross in the middle of the ring at ONE Fight Night 16.

‘The General’ won’t be able to use one of his biggest weapons, his signature elbows, in their five-round battle for the vacant ONE bantamweight kickboxing crown.

In a bid for two-sport supremacy, the ONE bantamweight Muay Thai kingpin gladly accepted a match with the dangerous ‘Wonderboy’.

While the narrative is that the MMA fighter Andrade will be handicapped against a pure striker like Haggerty, the Brazilian thinks it’s actually the other way around.

Fabricio Andrade explained in an exclusive interview with ONE Championship:

“He is a very technical fighter and that is one of his strengths. He works well on his opponent’s mistakes. But I believe the strong point of his [Muay Thai] game is his feints to land his elbows. But, as it will be a kickboxing fight, he won’t be able to use elbows.”

While Haggerty can still use those deceitful feints of his, he’s going to be limited to just punches, kicks, and knees under kickboxing rules. The British slugger must adjust his usual attacks since his piercing elbows are banned for this contest.

On the flip side, Andrade is confident that his kickboxing background will serve him well for this epic champion vs. champion tiff.

Before transitioning to mixed martial arts, the 26-year-old wreaked havoc in the kickboxing circuit, where he sported an impressive 40-3 record.

Plus, Fabricio Andrade can still use his rib-shattering knees to the body, which has spelled the demise of plenty of his challengers in MMA.

ONE Fight Night 16: Haggerty vs. Andrade on Prime Video will emanate from Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok. The full event will air live on US Primetime on November 3, free of charge for existing Prime Video subscribers in North America.