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Former ONE flyweight Muay Thai world champion Jonathan Haggerty will be making his ONE bantamweight Muay Thai debut at ONE on Prime Video 4. 'The General' will face Vladimir Kuzmin on the main card of the November 18 event and will be weighing 10 pounds over his usual fighting weight.
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Though it seems that the Brit's decision to move up was motivated by health and wellness reasons, it doesn't mean that he's fully closing the door on going back down to 135 pounds.
In an interview with The MMA Superfan, Haggerty revealed the only reason he'll return to flyweight:
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"I’m not going back down at flyweight, but I’d love to fight the winner [of Rodtang vs. Lasiri]. For now, we’re focusing on the bantamweights and Vladimir Kuzmin."
It looks like Jonathan Haggerty will have his eyes glued to the co-main event of ONE on Prime Video 4 as it will feature his former rival, ONE flyweight Muay Thai king Rodtang Jitmuangnon. 'The Iron Man' will welcome another fighter who's moving up in weight to challenge him, ONE strawweight Muay Thai world champion Joseph Lasiri.
Haggerty and Rodtang have had one of the best rivalries ONE Championship has ever seen and we're sure another clash between the two would be another classic.
Watch the full interview here:
Jonathan Haggerty reveals his reason in moving up to bantamweight
In the same interview, Jonathan Haggerty also revealed the main reason why he decided to fight at a heavier weight class. Apparently, it's ONE's hydration requirements that pushed 'The General' to move up in weight:
"The last time I made 61 kilos, I made the weight, but it's really the hyrdration, really. Just keeping myself hydrated, it's difficult to keep the balance... And in the next one, you know, my body must have just grown. I had a 12-week camp for Walter Goncalves and I started to fade in the last bit. I started to peak just a little bit early and, yeah you know, it was hard. I was doing it all by myself and I thought, 'I cannot afford to just not fight again this year. Let me go to bantamweight...Let me knock on their door.' Yeah man, I'm excited. Who knows, it might be the new me. "
It is often said that real fights take place on the scales. From weight-cutting to dangerous dehydration tactics, many prizefighters risk their lives just so they can beat the scales.
ONE Championship implemented their strict weight and hydration requirements to guarantee the safety of their athletes. In Jonathan Haggerty's case, sometimes a fighter's body just naturally grows and becomes too big for his weight class.
Perhaps it's imperative that 'The General' moves up or else it will be detrimental to his performance and, most importantly, to his health.
