“See who’s the best” – Jonathan Haggerty looks forward to fighting “one of the best” in the Superlek at ONE 168: Denver

Reigning ONE Muay Thai and Kickboxing Bantamweight World Champion Jonathan “The General” Haggerty is ready. He is ready to assert himself as the promotion’s best striker. In primetime in the U.S. on Friday, September 6, fans will witness the main event of ONE 168: Denver, where the hard-hitting fighter will defend his Muay Thai gold against another amazing pound-for-pound fighter, ONE Kickboxing Flyweight World Champion “The Kicking Machine” Superlek Kiatmoo9.

This is a big deal because it will be broadcast live from Ball Arena in Denver and it is arguably the biggest fight in recent history between two of the best in the world. Jonathan Haggerty revealed why this duel is very special to him. “You know, the opportunity to face one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world. I truly believe he's one of the best up there. And just getting the opportunity to compete with him there — and just the fans. You're going to have an explosive fight. You're going to have an exciting night. I'm excited for the fans to see Superlek and I come together. I feel like a lot of people wanted this fight, myself included.” he said.

He also revealed his and Superlek’s style and said: “I think our styles are the same. We're both aggressive. We're both looking for the knockout. I'd say we're both the best pound-for-pound. He's the best at flyweight. I'm the best at bantamweight. So why not put us together and see who's the best?” Interestingly, this is not the first time they have fought each other, so let's see what happened during the first fight.

What happened in the first match between Jonathan Haggerty and Superlek?

The duo first met in 2018 before landing on the world-famous stage with ONE Championship. “The Kicking Machine” and “The General” fought at Yokkao 31 & 32 in the United Kingdom. In that bout, Superlek injured Haggerty with a cut above the eye, and the fight was subsequently stopped by the doctor due to the severity of the injury.

According to the Thai megastar, many fans were not happy with this decision. He spoke in an interview with ONE Championship and said: “Haggerty has always been someone [I wanted] a rematch since our first fight in 2018. That fight was stopped by the referee. I won by TKO, but the crowd was not happy. There was a lot of booing, as if I didn't deserve the win. I want to prove that I can still win the fight without a referee stopping it early.”

However, the pair will get another chance to compete, and fans in over 190 countries can watch all the action live and for free, including Amazon Prime Video coverage for fans in the US and Canada. Tickets are also available through Ticketmaster.

Superlek’s attitude before the ONE 168 fight

The king of both sports seems pretty unfazed ahead of one of the toughest fights of his career against superstar Kiatmoo9. The 27-year-old is still looking forward to the fight and says he only wants to face the toughest opponents of his career. He explained that the fight would be tough, but it would be an incentive for him.

Superlek is also pretty excited about the fight now because he admires his opponent and always wanted a rematch. In addition, he was also not happy about being doubted in his first fight with Haggerty. In an interview with Nation Thailand magazine, he said: “I'm not happy that I've been questioned as if I couldn't have won without the stoppage. I want to prove people wrong.”

“The General” is undefeated since moving up to bantamweight and has won a total of six fights since losing the ONE Flyweight Muay Thai World Title to Rodtang Jitmuangnon in 2020. Superlek, on the other hand, is on a 10-fight winning streak, and this time around, the 28-year-old promised to show a different style of his game. “In this fight I will give 100% for the first time and apply a lot of pressure. I will be aggressive,” he said in the same interview.

This fight will be explosive and both fighters will want a knockout. Who do you think will win this time? Let us know your pick in the comments below.