Jonathan Haggerty's reign as double champion came to a violent end at ONE 168: Denver. The British superstar relinquished his ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world title to Superlek Kiatmoo9, the ONE flyweight kickboxing world champion, in the card's main event at Ball Arena this past weekend.
In an interview with ONE Championship, Haggerty admitted that he was distraught with the loss but vowed to return a better and stronger fighter.
Jonathan Haggerty said:
"Tough day at the office, but I dared to be great. I'll be back, I've been in this position before, and I'll definitely be back stronger than ever."
Haggerty, who still holds the ONE bantamweight kickboxing world title, went into his Denver super fight against Superlek carrying immense momentum. Riding a six-fight winning streak, including three straight knockouts, Haggerty's confidence was at an all-time high.
Superlek, however, flew to Denver with an ungodly 10-fight winning streak and the immense determination to claim another piece of ONE Championship gold.
While the combat sports community expected an absolute dogfight between the two, Superlek decided he would spend less than a minute in one of the biggest fights of his career.
Superlek was calculated in the fight's opening moments and spent the first few seconds dissecting Haggerty's offensive approach. After calculating his approach, the Thai star met a lunging Haggerty with a beautiful elbow counter that immediately floored the British superstar.
With Haggerty unable to beat the 10-count, referee Justin Brown had no choice but to end the match 49 seconds into the first round.
Jonathan Haggerty says the loss to Superlek is just an obstacle to overcome
Jonathan Haggerty is no stranger to coming back up from immense adversity.
'The General' is a former ONE flyweight Muay Thai world champion but relinquished that throne to current holder Rodtang Jitmuangnon in 2020.
Nevertheless, Haggerty bounced back, moved to bantamweight, and claimed two of the division's world titles.
Haggerty now plans to channel that same determination after his Denver heartbreak against Superlek in the hopes of reclaiming the bantamweight Muay Thai throne.
Taking to Instagram, Jonathan Haggerty wrote:
"Last night didn't go our way, but that's the fight game. I thought I had Superlek hurt and rushed him, but he caught me with a beautiful elbow. Credit to him on a well-earned victory."
He added:
"Congratulations to Superlek, and thank you to all the incredible fans and everyone at ONE Championship for the love and support. This is just a part of the journey, and I promise I'll be back stronger and hungrier than ever. We rise, we learn, and we keep fighting. See you soon!"