FREE FULL FIGHT: Jonathan Haggerty lights Qatar up in electric kickboxing world title defense over Wei Rui

ONE bantamweight kickboxing world champion Jonathan Haggerty delivered a five-round masterclass against Chinese superstar Wei Rui in the co-main event of ONE 171: Qatar this past February in defense of the throne.

The challenger got the better of Haggerty in the opening round, dictating most of the action with his quick combos punctuated by leg kicks. The United Kingdom star knew he had to be the aggressor for the remainder of the fight to have a good shot at retaining.

'The General' matched Wei's activity from the second round onwards with a bevy of strikes that showed the full extent of his Muay Thai-based striking background. After blasting 'Demon Blade' in the face with his patented teep kick late in the fourth round, Haggerty assumed full control of the battle until the final bell rang. He retained the gold via unanimous decision.

Rewatch the entire fight below, which ONE posted on YouTube:

Upending Wei's hopes of being the first Chinese kickboxing world champion in ONE history was a much-needed confidence booster for Haggerty as he had just lost the ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world championship to ONE flyweight kickboxing world champion Superlek Kiatmoo9 last September at ONE 168: Denver.

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Jonathan Haggerty talks about his bantamweight kickboxing future

Jonathan Haggerty wants nothing more than to return to two-sport ONE world champion status, but he understands that a more pressing task is at hand: defeat the best in the 145-pound kickboxing division.

Speaking recently with the South China Morning Post, the Knowlesy Academy star athlete shared:

"You know what, it was meant to be out of Petchtanong or Ilias [Ennahachi] if I'm honest. Obviously, he missed weight and wasn't able to fight. So maybe they're going to have to fight again to see who's number one. But yeah, I'd like to fight Petchtanong too. All of them."

Watch the entire interview below: