ONE Championship: Superlek to 'exploit' Jonathan Haggerty's weaknesses after 'awkward' Kongthoranee fight

Superlek Kiatmookao is ready to "exploit" Jonathan Haggerty's weaknesses when ONE Championship returns to Denver in September.

The flyweight kickboxing champion will move up to challenge Haggerty for the bantamweight Muay Thai belt at ONE 168.

He will go into the fight on the back of a 10th straight victory, having masterminded a unanimous decision over Kongthoranee Sor Sommai at ONE Friday Fights 68.

Haggerty, whom the 28-year-old Thai beat in 2018 on a doctor stoppage outside of the ONE promotional banner, could prove to be his toughest test to date.

But Superlek feels he can find an opening to become a two-weight and two-sport champion at Ball Arena, home of the NBA's Denver Nuggets. He told Sportskeeda backstage at Lumpinee Stadium:

"I believe every athlete, there's always an opening or some weaknesses. It depends on who finds it first in the ring. So I’m ready to go out there with Jonathan Haggerty to find that out. What is his weakness and how can I exploit it."

"The Kicking Machine" is certainly not taking the challenge lightly, and will head to Canada soon to prepare with friend and teammate Petchpanomrung Kiatmookao – the Glory featherweight champion.

Superlek's arm is raised after his decision win over Kongthoranee.

He will also spend several weaks acclimating to the higher altitude in Colorado, as he looks to pack on some muscle too. He added:

"For the next three months it’s only going to be better. I’ve got people who have knowledge in sports science that will come in and help me with that."

Friday's co-main event against Kongthoranee certainly presented a tough hurdle to overcome – and a potential pitfall that could have derailed the Denver headliner, in more ways than one.

Superlek heads to the ring against Kongthoranee at ONE Friday Fights 68.

Superlek admitted he did not flow as fully as he would have liked against his fellow Thai star, given the circumstances. He added:

"I wasn’t holding anything back but I didn’t want to make any mistakes, so my fight came out kind of a little bit awkward ... It was not easy at all. A lot of people have been saying this would be an easy fight for me. But for me, every fight, there is no such word as easy."

For now, though, all attention turns to the 27-year-old Briton Haggerty, who has been on a tear since moving up from flyweight himseld, with four wins in a row.

Still, Superlek is considered to be the pound-for-pound best striker in ONE – and possibly on the planet – by many, though he refused to get carried away following his clinic against Kongthoranee. Instead, he opted to remain humble, and said:

"It’s true, there are so many more athletes that are way better than me. But I’m now focusing only on Haggerty."