“He was a great opponent” - Jonathan Haggerty admits Wei Rui was much tougher than he initially expected

ONE bantamweight kickboxing world champion Jonathan Haggerty successfully defended his championship belt in Qatar last week over challenger Wei Rui. He, however, came away impressed with the Chinese fighter for the tough stand he put up in the title match.

'The General' scored a convincing decision victory at ONE 171: Qatar on Feb. 20 at the Lusail Sports Arena over Wei but not after being made to work in their five-rounder. He pointed out that he was going for an early finish, but his opponent just would not go without a fight.

Haggerty talked about it at the post-event press conference for ONE 171, pointing out how Wei proved wrong those who thought he would just easily fold against him.

The 28-year-old champion said:

"I mean, the man behind it all, Christian Knowles. We were studying Wei Rui. I think the hard thing about it, was everybody was thinking I was going to go in there and destroy him and he shouldn't really be in there with me. But he was a great opponent."

Watch the press conference below:

In winning at ONE 171, Jonnathan Haggerty made full use of his striking combinations and push kicks to keep Wei's game under control. But the challenger was still steadfast in his push until he slowed down in the late rounds before slumping to the defeat.

The victory was the first successful defense of the kickboxing gold of Haggerty after becoming world champion in November 2023.

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Jonathan Haggerty happy with performance at ONE 171

While he had his struggles early on at ONE 171: Qatar, overall, Jonathan Haggerty was satisfied with his performance that allowed him to retain the ONE bantamweight kickboxing world title.

Haggerty shared this during the post-fight interview inside the Circle with ONE commentator Mitch Chilson following his victory. The 28-year-old highlighted that entering the contest his goal was to give a solid showing, which he believed he did.

Haggerty said:

"Qatar, thank you for having me. It's a pleasure. I tried to put on the best performance I could, and I hope I gave you guys a show."

The win at ONE 171 saw Haggerty rebound from his KO loss in his last fight to Thai superstar Superlek Kiatmoo9, which had him losing the bantamweight Muay Thai world title he previously concurrently held.

The full replay of ONE 171: Qatar is available via watch.onefc.com.