Despite anticipating an exciting contest between defending world champion Jonathan Haggerty and challenger Felipe Lobo for the ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world title on February 16 at ONE Fight Night 19, Liam Harrison thinks that it will just pave the way for another massive contest in the foreseeable future.
In an interview on Sky Sports’ YouTube channel recently, Harrison reckons Haggerty will eventually take the dub and set the stage for a gigantic showdown against the No.1-ranked contender Nico Carrillo.
The British combat sports star said:
“To be fair, I think the fight that it's going to lead up to is going to be Haggerty versus Carrillo because that's a massive massive fight. Everyone wants to see that fight. And I think it’s bound to happen.”
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Carrillo had a meteoric rise in the world’s largest martial arts organization, scoring stoppage wins out of all three opponents - Furkan Karabag, Muangthai PK Saenchai, and most notably Nong-O Hama - whom he beat in December 2023 at ONE Friday Fights 46.
Because of this incredible pile of wins, the 25-year-old Scottish athlete has barged his way to the top of the divisional rankings and becomes the consensus next challenger for the 26-pound golden belt.
Liam Harrison thinks that Felipe Lobo’s main weapon against Jonathan Haggerty in upcoming world title match
Although Haggerty is the favorite to get his hands raised in his first world title defense against Lobo, Harrison will still tune in closely for their fight because he wants to see the toughness and big heart of the Brazilian challenger.
‘Hitman’ commended Lobo for the never-say-die attitude he showed during his match with Saemapetch Fairtex in April 2023 at ONE Fight Night 9, where he recovered from a knockdown to score a third-round finish.
North American fans with an active Amazon Prime Video can tune in to ONE Fight Night 19, headlined by Jonathan Haggerty and Felipe Lobo, live and for free in U.S. primetime.