Haggerty Already Eyeing Another Championship

Jon Haggerty isn’t ready to stop adding to his championship belt collection. Only moments after defending his ONE Bantamweight Muay Thai Championship belt, he said he would like to try winning a championship in MMA next. Haggerty has become one of the stars of ONE Championship, becoming a two-spot standout, also winning the ONE Bantamweight Kickboxing World Championship.

Haggerty had his hands full during his Muay Thai championship fight. He landed a right cross in the round to earn a knockout victory over Felipe Lobo. Lobo was attempting to get revenge for his teammate Fabricio Andrade. 

Few people have figured out how to solve what Haggerty brings. Haggerty has now won seven consecutive fights, with the last three coming by knockout. Haggery’s only misstep in ONE Championship was when he fought Rodtang Jitmuangnon. Back in 2019 and 2020, Haggerty lost a pair of fights to Jitmuangnon. But the British fighter has been on a role since.

While Haggerty may pursue new challenges, he has become one of the world’s top Muay Thai and bantamweight fighters. Haggerty’s striking will undoubtedly translate well to MMA, but the world of mixed martial arts presents many new challenges. Being able to effectively grapple is an important skill to learn. Jitmuangnon found out when he fought MMA legend Demetrious Johnson in a mixed-rules match that the MMA rounds were harder to manage than he previously imagined that they would be.

Fairtex Earns His Revenge

Saemapetch Fairtex was elated to get back into the win column. Fairtex, who is ranked No. 3 in the bantamweight division, had been stewing over his first-round knockout loss to Mohamed Younes Rabah back in December. During the pair’s first meeting, Rabah was able to knock out Fairtex. The way the fight ended upset Fairtex.

He was hit with a knee that was borderline illegal and stumbled when he got back up. In the rematch, Fairtex scored two knockdowns quickly after the fight started and had the fight waived off following the third stoppage.

Online boxing news shows that it was the 120th win over Fairtex’s career. He also picked up his third performance bonus of his career. Fairtex picked up an extra $50,000 dollars for winning the fight in dominant fashion.

Fairtex is hoping to work his way back into the championship picture. In November 2019, Fairtex fought Nong-O Gaiyanghadao for the championship in Kallang, Singapore. That fight ended with a knockout loss in the fourth round. Since that defeat, Fairtex hasn’t been able to win more than three straight fights.

Williams’ Struggles Continue

Danial Williams was hoping to get back on track with his MMA fight against Lito Adiwang. But the two-time ONE World title challenger was no match for Adiwang. Adiwang employed his variety of skills to wear on Williams and picked up a decision win.

Adiwang has picked up three consecutive wins since making a comeback from a torn ACL. Adiwang has proven to be a resilient fighter in his career. He is 16-5 overall and has a 10-3 mark in ONE Championship fights.

Williams fell to 6-3 and now has some thinking to do on how to improve his game. Earning a title shot will require improving his skills to compete with fighters like Adiwang. Williams is hoping to find some of the magic he had early in his career going forward.

Williams had been on a five-fight winning streak before losing to Jeremy Miado in October 2022 in the third round by TKO. 

Nolan Can’t Keep Magic Going

With Haggerty defending the title, it was an overall good night for British fighters. But Liam Nolan not being able to pick up a win against Nauzet Trujillo was a bit of a setback. Trujillo was well equipped to keep Nolan off balance.

In the middle part of the fight, Trujillo was able to score a knockdown by utilizing his elbows for a strike. Nolan was never able to find the pressure to be able to make Trujillo’s life difficult. Nolan saw a two-fight winning streak end while Trujillo picked up his first win in the promotion.

Tetsuka Pulls Off a Stunner

Hiroyuki Tetsuka may have picked up the most impressive win of the evening. Not only did he beat Abraão Amorim, but Tetsuka turned one of Amorim’s greatest strengths against him. MMA news sites show that Tetsuka was able to force Amorim to the ground with a takedown.

As the two men jostled for position toward the end of the round, Tetsuka was able to separate Amorim’s arm and secure an armbar with only a few seconds left in the round. Amorim is a two-time world BJJ champion. It didn’t seem like he would be able to be caught in such a position.

However, Tetsuka was able to get in the right position and pick up the submission win. The welterweight now has four straight wins in MMA competition.

Lessei Picks Up Split Decision

Most of the fights on this card had a clear outcome, one way or another. The only fight that had some minor controversy was the featherweight Muay Thai championship fight between Luke Lessei and Eddie Abasolo. Lessei picked up a split decision victory.

However, the result could have gone either way. There was plenty of action on the card this past weekend. The results from this card were able to please people who monitor MMA news sites. There were quite a few finishes to go along with a few technical fights that ended by decision. Here’s a look at the other results on the card that weren’t mentioned above: 

• Women’s strawweight Muay Thai, Martyna Kierczyńska win by TKO (elbows and knees) Wondergirl Jaroonsak, Round 2 1:24
• Strawweight, Mansur Malachiev defeat Yosuke Saruta by decision
• Strawweight Muay Thai, Thongpoon P.K. Saenchai win by TKO (three knockdowns) over Timur Chuikov, Round 1 1:37

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By Dean McHugh.