WATCH: Jonathan Haggerty drops Taiki Naito with deceptive straight right

Taiki Naito and Jonathan Haggerty | Image courtesy of ONE Championship
Taiki Naito and Jonathan Haggerty | Image courtesy of ONE Championship

Former ONE flyweight Muay Thai world champion Jonathan Haggerty is not just a ferocious and aggressive striker - he's also quite the slickster. In a video released by ONE Championship, 'The General' was showcased connecting with a nifty right cross on Japanese standout Taiki Naito.

At first glance, it just looks like a normal hard right hand. When slowed down, however, you'll see the subtle misdirection Haggerty used to set up the straight punch.

Here's the video:

"Blink and you’ll miss it 😳 Jonathan Haggerty squares off with Vladimir Kuzmin at ONE on Prime Video 4! @jhaggerty_"

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Check out the Instagram post below:

Muay Thai, much like any striking martial art like boxing, often uses the art of misdirection to land punches opponents won't see. Jonathan Haggerty subtly raised his left leg to momentarily trick Naito into thinking that he'd land either a kick or knee. Then, in a micro-second, 'The General' switched his attack and threw a right cross.

Muay Thai is a game of inches and milliseconds and Haggerty only needed a tiny fraction of a second to have his opponent's attention away from his hands. Naito perhaps didn't have enough time to see the right cross coming as it instantaneously dropped him. This is why Haggerty is a cut above the rest.


Jonathan Haggerty moves up to bantamweight for the first time at ONE on Prime Video 4

After spending a large majority of his career at 135 pounds, Jonathan Haggerty will be making his debut in ONE's 145-pound Muay Thai division at ONE on Prime Video 4. 'The General' will face Russian standout Vladimir Kuzmin on the main card of the November 18 event.

The event is live and free to North American audiences with a Prime Video subscription.

After two canceled bouts due to health reasons, the fighting Brit has decided it's time to move up to bantamweight and test the competition there. In an interview with The MMA Superfan on YouTube, Haggerty explained why he made the decision to switch weight classes:

"The last time I made 61 kilos, I made the weight, but it's really the hyrdration, really. Just keeping myself hydrated, it's difficult to keep the balance... And in the next one, you know, my body must have just grown. I had a 12-week camp for Walter Goncalves and I started to fade in the last bit. I started to peak just a little bit early and, yeah you know, it was hard. I was doing it all by myself and I thought, 'I cannot afford to just not fight again this year. Let me go to bantamweight... Let me knock on their door.' Yeah man, I'm excited. Who knows, it might be the new me. "

Apparently, ONE's hydration requirements played a huge part in Jonathan Haggerty's reasons for moving up. The game-changing policy was implemented to ensure the safety of ONE athletes.

In Haggerty's case, his body just normally grows and thus he needs to move to change weight divisions as staying in flyweight might be detrimental to his health and performance.

Watch the full interview below:

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Edited by Dave
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