“The timing is off again” - Jonathan Haggerty says reclaiming Muay Thai crown takes precedence over MMA transition 

Jonathan Haggerty will be putting his mixed martial arts plans on the back burner.

The British striking superstar, after all, recently lost his two-sport world champion status after surrendering the bantamweight Muay Thai belt to Superlek Kiatmoo9 last year.

Before dipping his toes into MMA, the reigning bantamweight kickboxing king would put all his efforts into regaining his lost throne first.

Haggerty made this clear in an exclusive ONE Championship interview:

“I was at the point earlier last year where I was ready to [try MMA]. But now, losing the Muay Thai belt, that’s my bread and butter, and that setback didn’t help. So the timing is off again. My main priority is to get the Muay Thai belt back.”

Unbeknownst to many, Haggerty's father owned an MMA gym and he's been training the craft for years.

For now, however, the 27-year-old must ensure to keep his remaining 26 pounds of gold in two.

'The General' will defend his 145-pound kickboxing world title against China's Wei Rui in the first of two world title bouts at ONE 171: Qatar on Feb. 20 at Lusail Sports Arena.

For more information about ONE's massive combat sports spectacle in the Middle East, head over to onefc.com.

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Jonathan Haggerty has already beaten the ONE bantamweight MMA world champion

Jonathan Haggerty has already bested Fabricio Andrade before, and he's confident he can do it again even in a different ruleset.

'The General' rose to two-sport supremacy when he viciously knocked out 'Wonder Boy' in 2023 to claim the then-vacant bantamweight kickboxing world title.

Given the history these two share, it's no wonder that the Brit is confident he could make a seamless transition to MMA.

For now, however, it appears that Jonathan Haggerty must first handle business in the Muay Thai and kickboxing divisions before taking the plunge to MMA.