Jonathan Haggerty says switch to kickboxing came ‘natural’ to him

Jonathan Haggerty may not be as comfortable in kickboxing as he is in Muay Thai, but that won’t stop him from stepping into the legendary Lumpinee Boxing Stadium determined to deliver a highlight reel-worthy finish.

Returning to the same venue where he scored a stunning first-round knockout of Nong-O Hama to claim the ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world title, ‘The General’ will look to add another 26 pounds of gold to his mantle when he meets fellow ONE world champion Fabricio Andrade for the vacant ONE bantamweight kickboxing crown.

Known for his hellacious elbows in 'the art of eight limbs', Haggerty will be without perhaps his most dangerous weapon when he straps on the eight-ounce gloves for a scrap with one of ONE’s most prolific knockout artists.

“I don't know where I'll go with this because I haven't really been training for kickboxing,” Haggerty revealed in an interview with ONE Championship. “If I'm totally honest, the only time I've been training for kickboxing is to start this fight camp. And it's completely natural [for me] if I'm honest.

"So the kickboxing ruleset, you know, there’s no elbows, obviously, and no clinching and knees. I'm very good with elbows. I'm not a kickboxer, but I'm going to do that. I'm going to kickboxing and I'm going to beat him.”

Jonathan Haggerty’s experience competing against some of the best strikers in the world, including Rodtang Jitmuangnon and the aforementioned Nong-O Hama, will undoubtedly come in handy on Friday night.

But against an opponent like Fabricio Andrade, who has incredible knockout power and a plethora of experience competing in kickboxing, the odds certainly seem to be stacked against ‘The General’ at ONE Fight Night 16.

Amazon Prime Video subscribers in North America can catch all the action at ONE Fight Night 16: Haggerty vs. Andrade on Prime Video live in U.S. primetime on November 3.