“The crowd wasn’t happy” - Superlek says he’s always wanted a rematch against Jonathan Haggerty after their 2018 debacle

Superlek Kiatmoo9 may have won his first meeting against Jonathan Haggerty, but he wasn't too happy with what transpired during their match. The two first met outside of ONE Championship when they squared off at Yokkao in 2018 in a match that Superlek ended up winning via doctor's stoppage.

After a cut was opened up across Haggerty's face, the ringside physician decided to stop the contest and award the win to Superlek - a decision that the British crowd vehemently contested.

Now that both Superlek and Haggerty are under ONE Championship, the ONE flyweight kickboxing world champion can't wait to once again trade leather with the now-ONE bantamweight Muay Thai and kickboxing world champion.

Superlek said in an interview with ONE Championship that his upcoming fight against Haggerty for the bantamweight Muay Thai throne is a match that he's been dreaming of.

Apart from the chance to capture champ-champ status, Superlek wants to erase the bittersweet result from 2018.

He said:

"I've always wanted a rematch since our first match in 2018. That fight was stopped by the ref. I won by TKO, but the crowd wasn't happy. There was a lot of booing as if I didn't deserve to win. Now I want to prove that I can still win the fight without a ref stopping it prematurely."

Superlek and Haggerty have elevated their status since their first meeting, and both are considered among the best pound-for-pound strikers on the planet.

The Thai megastar is riding a 10-fight winning streak and holds wins over ONE flyweight Muay Thai world champion Rodtang Jitmuangnon and Japanese megastar Takeru Segawa.

Haggerty, meanwhile, is a former ONE flyweight Muay Thai world champion and has since moved to bantamweight to capture two of the division's world titles.

That fated rematch goes down in the main event of ONE 168: Denver on Friday, Sept. 6, at the Ball Arena, home of the NBA's Denver Nuggets.

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Superlek ready for five-round war against Jonathan Haggerty

Superlek has fought exclusively at flyweight in his ONE Championship career to date, but he believes he has what it takes to move up in weight and challenge Jonathan Haggerty.

In an interview with the South China Morning Post, Superlek believes he can finish Haggerty in Denver yet he's also ready to bring the fight to the latter stages if he can't secure a knockout early on.

"I feel like I'm moving up, maybe I have more power now, and maybe I could finish early. Well, who knows? No one knows, but I have prepared myself for five rounds just in case."