Jonathan Haggerty says "great striker" Fabricio Andrade simply 'wasn’t on his level'

In the build-up to ONE Fight Night 16, there was a lot of talk between Jonathan Haggerty and Fabricio Andrade.

The ONE bantamweight MMA world champion is always extremely confident ahead of his fights and this can rub opponents the wrong way ahead of fight night.

Before their clash last weekend, Haggerty made it clear that he would make a statement against ‘Wonder Boy’ and silence all the doubters by showing the levels to the game.

At the iconic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, he did just that with a second round finish to become a two-sport world champion.

While Andrade may have dominated all of his opponents in MMA with his electric striking, ‘The General’ has been competing against the best in the world for a long time.

Having sent the Brazilian back to MMA, Haggerty couldn’t help but get fired up by the adrenaline coursing through his veins, reminding everyone that he did exactly what he said he would do.

With some time to reflect on the fight and all of the build-up, the Brit was complimentary of his opponent and the dangers that he presented.

During his post-fight press conference with ONE Championship, Jonathan Haggerty spoke about the respect he has for Andrade but how on this occasion, the fight was a mismatch.

“He’s a great striker, you know, he showed it in his MMA fights. He’s a great champion, there’s respect there for sure. Anyone who steps into that ring, there’s always respect. But I knew his striking wasn’t on my level.”

Watch the full interview below:

Producing back-to-back finishes since moving up to the bantamweight striking divisions, Haggerty appears to be fulfilling his true potential since leaving flyweight behind for the time being.

North American viewers with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription can rewatch all the action from ONE Fight Night 16 via the free event replay.