“I Just Can’t Wait to Give Him a Beating” – Jonathan Haggerty Plans to Finally Settle the Score With Felipe Lobo at ONE Fight Night 19

Two-sport titleholder Jonathan Haggerty has made it clear that he plans to be a fighting champion in ONE Championship, and he’s taken that promise seriously by handpicking his next challenger.

On Friday, February 16, “The General” will defend the ONE Bantamweight Muay Thai World Title against #3-ranked divisional contender Felipe Lobo in the main event of ONE Fight Night 19 inside Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.

Jonathan Haggerty on his upcoming fight against Felipe Lobo

In his last outing this past November, Haggerty added the vacant bantamweight kickboxing strap to his collection when he knocked out the weight bracket’s MMA king, Fabricio Andrade, at ONE Fight Night 16.

Following the win, the British striking superstar had a heated exchange with Lobo, a teammate of Andrade at Tiger Muay Thai, in the middle of the ring. The words they shared were fiery and seemed to come from a place of spontaneous passion. But, in an interview with ONE, Haggerty explained that it was planned.

“When [Lobo] defeated Saemapetch [Fairtex], he was calling my name in the ring, and then he was in the back room after the fight calling my name, but I think his adrenaline must have died down because I didn’t hear anything from him since. I was sending him messages telling him, ‘Come on and let’s have it.’ I was commenting on social media, trying to get him to bite, and he wasn’t coming back with anything, so I thought he must have lost his pen – he couldn’t put pen to paper,” said Haggerty.

“After I beat Andrade, he was in the corner, and I just told him straight, ‘You don’t want it.’ It’s not every day the champion is calling out a top contender. It should be the other way around. I just can’t wait to give him a beating. That’s all.”

“The General’s” bout at ONE Fight Night 19 will be his first defense of the bantamweight Muay Thai throne since he won it with a showstopping performance against longtime king Nong-O Hama last April, and he doesn’t mind that he had to call out Lobo to put the wheels in motion.

Also Read: Liam Nolan, Nat Jaroonsak, Luke Lessei To Feature At ONE Fight Night 19: Haggerty vs. Lobo

‘The General’ explains why ‘Demolition Man’ deserves a shot at the Title

After all, his upcoming foe is no pushover. He has won three of his four bouts in ONE Championship, with only a failed World Title challenge of Nong-O in March 2022 being his only loss.

Haggerty acknowledges “Demolition Man” as a worthy challenger, and he foresees an interesting battle when they meet in the ring on February 16.

“Lobo deserves it. He stopped Saemapetch. He’s a great fighter. There’s respect there in the fighter sense. I just feel like we’re going to gel well. His style is perfect for me. He’s a perfect target for me, and I just can’t wait to throw down with him,” he said.

Jonathan Haggerty is currently one of the best strikers in the world, so will Felipe Lobo have what it takes to take the belt away from ‘The General’ at ONE Fight Night 19? Let us know how you think the fight will play out in the comments section below.

Also Read: 40 Year Old Mehdi Zatout Puts His Gloves Back on for Zuhayr Al-Qahtani at ONE 166