“I don’t get it” - Hiroki Akimoto blasts Jonathan Haggerty’s ambitions to transition to MMA

Jonathan Haggerty is looking to keep his incredible win streak going by continuing to test himself in new and exciting ways.

After securing the ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world championship at ONE Fight Night 9, kickboxing was the next title on his agenda.

ONE Fight Night 16 saw him defeat Fabricio Andrade with another electric stoppage, but the Londoner believes that he and ‘Wonder Boy’ have unfinished business.

‘The General’ made it very clear that he hopes to transition to MMA in the near future so that he can meet Andrade for a second time with the Brazilian’s MMA world championship on the line.

For the contenders in the bantamweight Muay Thai and kickboxing divisions, this is obviously less than ideal.

One of those contenders that hopes to face Jonathan Haggerty is Hiroki Akimoto and he expressed his confusion for the Brit moving away from striking during a recent interview with the South China Morning Post:

“I don’t know why he wants to fight in MMA. He’s a great Muay Thai fighter but not an MMA fighter.”

---

Jonathan Haggerty isn’t short on options

One thing that is certain for Jonathan Haggerty is that he isn’t short on options for his next few fights.

With two divisions full of challengers that are jumping at the chance to challenge him, the Brit could easily try to put together dominant win streaks in both divisions.

MMA, however, presents something new and the opportunity to become a three-sport world champion if he was successful in this big switch up.

Jonathan Haggerty’s win over Felipe Lobo in February showed that anyone that wants to end his run, best not miss if they come at the king so it doesn’t look like he’s going anywhere anytime soon.

North American viewers that missed out on any of the action from ONE Fight Night 19 can watch the event back via the free replay on Prime Video.