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Jonathan Haggerty achieved a lot in the flyweight Muay Thai division but he knew his days were always going to be numbered in this weight class. The Brit was able to hit the ground running in the promotion, securing back-to-back wins to find himself as the flyweight Muay Thai world champion.
His win over Sam-A Gaiyanghadao and subsequent wars with Rodtang Jitmuangnon helped announce himself on the global stage, but after seven fights at flyweight, it was time to make the jump.
Haggerty debuted at bantamweight at ONE on Prime Video 4 in 2022, where he took on Vladimir Kuzmin. Despite feeling better than ever at his new weight, the fight went right down to the wire and the decision could have gone either way.
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'The General' came out on the right side of a majority decision but even he admitted that he wasn't sure who was going to get their hand raised.
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In a recent YouTube video, he reflected on that result and what he was feeling at the moment:
"Actually, I didn't know how this was going to go. So when they did raise my hand, I was relieved. It was my first bantamweight fight and you can see from my expression, that I was buzzing. So then I thought to myself yeah, onto the next bantamweight. Let's build it up now."
Watch the full video below:
The rest is history for Jonathan Haggerty
Winning a close decision against Vladimir Kuzmin was just the start of a special run for Jonathan Haggerty at bantamweight.
It wasn't as clear in this fight but since that point, he has reaped the rewards of not having to cut down to make flyweight each training camp.
Haggerty looks faster and stronger than he ever did in the past, as proven by his stoppage wins over Nong-O Hama and Fabricio Andrade to become a two-sport world champion.
These same physical attributes are sure to be key for him when he faces off with Superlek in the main event of ONE 168: Denver with his Muay Thai crown on the line.
Tickets for ONE 168: Denver are available via Ticketmaster.
