ONE Championship: Chatri Sityodtong "definitely interested" in Jonathan Haggerty vs. Superlek, says Fabricio Andrade MMA title fight must wait

The clamor for Jonathan Haggerty's seemingly inevitable rematch with Superlek Kiatmoo9 continues to grow, with ONE Championship CEO and chairman Chatri Sityodtong adding his voice to the chorus.

Haggerty made a successful first defence of his bantamweight Muay Thai title with a third round stoppage of Felipe Lobo in Saturday's ONE Fight Night 19 main event at Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok.

After an early morning meet and greet with fans at the same arena, ONE flyweight kickboxing champ Superlek told Sportskeeda he wanted to jump up a division and "challenge myself" against a man he beat outside the ONE promotional banner in 2018.

Sityodtong seemed to be on board with the idea after handing Haggerty a third straight performance bonus for a third straight title fight knockout victory at Lumpinee. He told Sportskeeda:

"I am definitely interested in Superlek versus Haggerty. I will talk to my team. But fans are asking most for two fights – a Haggerty kickboxing defence versus Akimoto, or a Haggerty rematch with Rodtang in Muay Thai."

Jonathan Haggerty speaks to Mitch Chilson in the ring after stopping Felipe Lobo at Lumpinee Stadium.

Haggerty stopped and smiled when told by Sportskeeda of Sityodtong's words in the lobby of the host Rama Gardens Hotel, where he was soaking up the celebrations with his family. The 27-year-old Briton said:

"Tell him I want [Fabricio] Andrade."

The ONE boss responded in kind to Sportskeeda:

"It might happen in the future but only after the other fights. Haggerty has a lot of big fights ahead of him to cement his legacy."

Indeed, the two-sport champion, who also holds the bantamweight kickboxing title after finishing Andrade in November, wants to add an unprecedented third belt in his weight class by taking the Brazilian's MMA crown.

Jonathan Haggerty (left) and Fabricio Andrade at the ONE Fight Night 16 ceremonial weigh-ins ahead of their bantamweight kickboxing title fight in November 2023.

Haggerty repeatedly sounded the phrase "I'm going to focus on myself now" when he was grilled backstage during a multitude of interviews at Lumpinee, asking him about challenges to his Muay Thai throne. He added:

"They can all get in line, I'm the champ-champ ... [Superlek] needs to stop talking about it, grow a pair, eat a bit more food and let’s do it."

Within an hour of Haggerty finishing Lobo in the third round of an instant classic, his name was already on the lips – or fingertips – of No.1-ranked bantamweight Muay Thai contender Nico Carrillo, too.

The Scotsman, sharing a video of Lobo knocking Haggerty down in the first round, wrote on his Instagram story:

"Congrats on your win. Now imagine me hitting you! You're getting it."

Haggerty's 19-year-old brother Freddie, who made a stunning ONE Friday Fights debut last month, recited the offending social media post to his sibling during a break in interviews backstage, which drew a smile and a laugh from the champ, who said:

"Just tell him I'll keep collecting my 50 and 100 grand while he's getting his 350,000 baht."

'The General' also seemingly has a third challenger to worry about, in the form of flyweight champion Rodtang Jitmuangnon – who claimed his belt from Haggerty in August 2019, and beat him in a rematch, before Haggerty eventually moved up in weight.

Jonathan Haggerty (left) and Rodtang Jitmuangnon face off in Manila ahead of their August 2019 flyweight Muay Thai title fight.

The 26-year-old Thai wrote in posts across his social media accounts:

"Congratulations on your last fight. You fought very well. Now come fight me again so we can see who the real G is."

The identity of Haggerty's next opponent – and which ruleset – might be unclear. But one thing he and Sityodtong could agree on was that Saturday's fight against Lobo was a hell of a scrap.

"Yes, definitely, it is a contender for Muay Thai fight of the year already," Sityodtong told Sportskeeda.