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He may have lost the match, but Jonathan Haggerty remained grateful to have had the opportunity to close out ONE Championship's live return to the United States. Haggerty relinquished his ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world title to Thai megastar Superlek Kiatmoo9 in the main event of ONE 168: Denver on Sept. 6.
Taking to Instagram earlier this week, Haggerty expressed his appreciation for closing out the show in front of the crowd inside Ball Arena in Denver.
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Jonathan Haggerty, who still holds the ONE bantamweight kickboxing world title, wrote:
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"Main event, sold out stadium. Man, I am so grateful for such opportunities! Thank you @onechampionship @yodchatri #Getbacktime #Dontcountmeout"
Haggerty is no stranger to closing out shows for ONE Championship. He was in three main events this year alone, but the magnitude surrounding ONE 168 was far greater than his other main events.
The British superstar, however, exited his last main event in a disappointing fashion. Instead of retaining his coveted ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world title, Haggerty relinquished the throne and his champ-champ status to Superlek.
The reigning ONE flyweight kickboxing world champion knocked Haggerty out with an elbow counter 49 seconds into the first round that sent the Denver crowd into a frenzy.
Nevertheless, Haggerty remains committed to reclaiming the bantamweight Muay Thai strap and hopes to secure a rematch against Superlek.
Jonathan Haggerty promises to come back stronger after losing bantamweight Muay Thai throne
Jonathan Haggerty is hellbent on returning to champ-champ status in any way possible.
A few moments after he lost to Superlek in the main event of ONE 168, Haggerty told ONE Championship in a backstage interview that he's more than ready to come back better. He said:
"Tough day at the office, but I dared to be great. I'll be back, I've been in this position before, and I'll definitely be back stronger than ever."
