“One of the greatest strikers” - Chatri Sityodtong calls Jonathan Haggerty Muay Thai ‘Ferrari’ after stellar performance at ONE 171

Jonathan Haggerty cemented his spot among the top strikers in the world today, and even ONE Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong was impressed with his latest masterpiece.

At ONE 171: Qatar last Thursday, 'The General' successfully defended the ONE bantamweight kickboxing world championship against Chinese superstar Wei Rui inside the Lusail Sports Arena.

Coming off a devastating loss that led to him surrendering the bantamweight Muay Thai belt to Superlek in September last year, Haggerty's back was against the wall heading into the contest with Wei.

'Demon Blade' was fresh off a win against former divisional champ Hiroki Akimoto, which extended his streak to 21 straight victories. Things looked bleak for Haggerty early on, which the ONE boss noted during the post-fight press conference.

He said:

"I thought Jonathan, proved again to the whole world why he's one of the greatest strikers pound for pound on the planet. There's no question it was a technical battle. I'm sitting with Renzo Gracie, the legend, and we both look at each other, at the first round, we're like, ‘oh my God, Haggerty is gonna get knocked out, second or third round.’"

However, the Haggerty was able to turn the tide in the latter rounds, which Chatri Sityodtong noted pushed the decision in his favor.

"But then this is the thing - he's like a Ferrari, there are different gears. I thought he was in full gear in the first round, but then all of a sudden, in the second round, he turns it up. Third round, he turns it up. And he's got more gears. So obviously, Jonathan's a high IQ fighter."

Watch the fight here:

Jonathan Haggerty bounces back strong after learning from loss

Jonathan Haggerty absorbed the first loss of his bantamweight career in just 49 seconds last year when Superlek Kiatmoo9 hit a perfectly timed elbow to claim the ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world title.

This time around, he was able to go the distance with Wei Rui in their kickboxing showdown at ONE 171. During the post-event press conference, he credited his team for helping him focus on correcting his mistakes to produce a magnificent performance.

Haggerty said:

"I think it was I just didn't want to get knocked out for 49 seconds again. I learned from my mistakes. Me and my coach, my team, went back to the drawing board. We just didn't want to rush in, he had to take our time and get the game plan right."