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ONE Fight Night 9 more than delivered on the hype that it promised.
The iconic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium bore witness to a collection of upset victories, but none had more impact than the main event bout between Nong-O Hama and Jonathan Haggerty for the ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world title.
Outside of the electrifying main event, a couple of other fights set the tone for the card’s whole atmosphere that had Bangkok buzzing.
That said, here are the best performances at ONE Fight Night 9: Nong-O vs. Haggerty.
#3. Jhanlo Mark Sangiao
Jhanlo Mark Sangiao made sure that the legacy of Team Lakay will remain until the next generation.
The young Filipino star was in the ONE Fight Night 9’s show opener when he took on Argentinian submission machine Matias Farinelli.
Sangiao, who was making his third appearance in ONE Championship, had one plan and that was to stand with Farinelli. Despite holding the striking advantage over the South American veteran, Sangiao ended the bout through what is slowly becoming the identity of his stable’s younger fighters.
The 20-year-old threw bombs mere seconds into the fight that allowed him to bring the match to the ground.
Although he was in his opponent’s element, Sangiao displayed his brilliant jiu-jitsu game and locked in a kneebar that forced Farinelli to tap less than a minute into the first round.
Sangiao improved his ONE Championship record to a perfect 3-0, with all three wins coming via submission, and took a cool $50,000 bonus from ONE Championship CEO Chatri Sityodtong.
#2. Felipe Lobo
Brazilian striker Felipe Lobo is no stranger to the big stage, having already challenged for the ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world title in his previous match in ONE Championship.
His matchup against Saemapetch Fairtex, however, proved to be the defining moment of his career.
Lobo walked into ONE Fight Night 9 as a massive underdog and had to face Saemapetch, the no.1-ranked bantamweight Muay Thai contender, in front of a partisan home crowd in Bangkok.
Saemapetch, buoyed by the home fans, was on fire from the opening bell and even knocked Lobo with a crisp left hook in the second round.
Lobo knew that he was behind the scorecards and that a knockout was the only way for him to take the win.
By the time the third round rolled around, Lobo overwhelmed Saemapetch with tremendous pressure. He then pinned the Thai superstar to the ropes before landing a vicious 1-2 combo for the knockout win 1:56 into the third.
Lobo’s comeback win also earned him a $50,000 bonus.
#1. Jonathan Haggerty
If there was one fighter at ONE Fight Night 9 who had all the cards stacked against him, it had to be Jonathan Haggerty.
The British star, despite being a former world champion, was already told that he would face a futile world title challenge against the legendary Nong-O Hama.
Haggerty, however, was not one to listen to the naysayers. ‘The General’ marched into Bangkok with all the bravado in the world and he felt that Nong-O’s invincible run was at an end.
Nong-O came into the match with a perfect 10-0 record in ONE Championship, 8-0 in world title fights, and a streak of five straight knockouts. Just by those figures alone, the Thai megastar was primed for another dominant win.
Haggerty then showed that those accolades were just numbers.
The former ONE flyweight Muay Thai world champion was a man possessed during the match and dropped Nong-O three times in the opening round.
Haggerty first sent Nong-O to the canvas with a quick right overhand, and he followed it up with a flurry of punches for the second knockdown of the fight.
Now that he was on the cusp of greatness, Haggerty secured his legend with a barrage of punches that felled Nong-O for the third and final time.
He had such an inspiring and improbable win that Sityodtong awarded Haggerty a massive $100,000 bonus to go along with the ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world title.
