Jonathan Haggerty says he’s adjusted well to bantamweight frame after failed first attempt

At ONE Fight Night 9, Jonathan Haggerty pulled off one of the biggest upsets in ONE Championship history, dethroning the dominant bantamweight Muay Thai world champion Nong-O Hama with a first-round knockout.

Becoming a two-time Muay Thai world champion under the ONE banner, ‘The General’ made his name at the division below thanks to his other big upset victory over the flyweight titleholder Sam-A Gaiyanghadao back in 2019.

At ONE on Prime Video 4 in November last year, the Brit made his bantamweight debut, winning a majority decision over Vladimir Kuzmin as his body still adjusted to fighting at a higher weight class.

On April 21 in the main event at the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium, Haggerty’s body looked far more conditioned to the bantamweight division, with fans questioning how he ever cut down to flyweight in the first place.

In his post event interview after ONE Fight Night 9, Jonathan Haggerty spoke about the key differences between his bantamweight debut and now and whether that was a big factor in his performance:

“Yeah, 100%. The first time I went to bantamweight, I didn’t know what to expect. It was a little bit of a shock to my body, with all the muscles. But I think a big part of it was going to Thailand for the last two weeks, acclimatizing. I’ve been used to the heat, I’m just sweating a lot and feel I could be in this weight perfectly now, and it’s my home.”

With his performance against Nong-O Hama, Haggerty added another incredible highlight reel performance to his ONE Championship career, proving once again that you can never count ‘The General’ out.