On February 16 at ONE Fight Night 19, Jonathan Haggerty will defend his ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world title for the first time. Challenging him for the strap will be Brazilian striker Felipe 'Demolition Man' Lobo. Inside the iconic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium, 'The General' will look to put his rival away to defend one of his belts.
Haggerty, who is also the ONE bantamweight kickboxing world champion, aims to replicate his legendary knockout when he flatlined Nong-O Hama to claim the Muay Thai Throne last year.
Lobo, on the other hand, has a 3-1 record in the promotion and will be challenging for the belt for the second time in his career. 'The Demolition Man' is coming off a huge upset victory over fellow former world title challenger Saemapetch Fairtex on the same night that Jonathan Haggerty won the belt.
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In an interview with ONE Championship, Haggerty spoke about the difference between him and Saemapetch, saying:
“He [Lobo] did great against Saemapetch. He came back from a knockdown and showed great heart and great determination, so this will be a great fight. But he won’t be getting back up after I hit him. That’s the difference.”
Jonathan Haggerty warns Felipe Lobo to not relax against him
Another aspect Jonathan Haggerty warned Lobo about is the pace he'll have to deal with once they step inside the ring. Apparently, you can't be caught sleeping on the wheel when you're facing 'The General'.
He told ONE:
“I feel like Felipe starts very slow, and he’s got a very Thai boxing style, but you can’t relax like that against me. If you put it on him, he doesn’t like it, and he’s going to crumble.”
Interesting take by the world champion. Whether or not he's right is yet to be determined. Catch ONE Fight Night 19 as it airs live on US Primetime on February 16, free of charge for existing Prime Video subscribers in North America.