ONE 168: Denver is mere days away, as it happens this Friday, September 6, inside the Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado. The electric main event has fans buzzing, as two of the best strikers in the world today square off with two-sport World Champion Jonathan ‘The General’ Haggerty defending his bantamweight Muay Thai strap against the flyweight kickboxing kingpin ‘The Kicking Machine’ Superlek Kiatmoo9. The event marks the promotion’s second event in the United States after a massive success in its debut at ONE Fight Night 10 in May last year. 

Among the millions of fans waiting to watch how the epic main event showdown is going to play out is ONE Flyweight Muay Thai World Champion, Rodtang Jitmuangnon. “The Iron Man” spoke to ONE Championship to offer his prediction on the fight. He said, “It has a high chance to end with a KO. It’s hard for me to predict, but In the first round, the two will get to know each other. In the second round, they will start trading weapons. If both of them are careful, it should end in the third or fourth round.” The 27-year-old has faced both fighters in his career and understands their game well. Let us take a look at whom he predicts to be the winner. 

Rodtang Jitmuangnon picks his favorite for the upcoming battle at ONE 168: Denver 

Rodtang Jitmuangmon is a rare fighter who has faced both Haggerty and Superlek in his career. The ONE Flyweight Muay Thai World Champion actually captured his belt back in 2019, when he defeated “The General” at ONE: DAWN OF HEROES back in August 2019 with a hard-fought unanimous decision victory. In their rematch five months later, the Thai star put on a more dominating performance and knocked down Haggerty three times in the third round to win by TKO.

More recently, Rodtang faced ‘The Kicking Machine’ at ONE Friday Fights 34 in 2023. Their three-round war went the full distance with both fighters showcasing their best skills. It was Superlek who came away with the victory on that night despite being a bloody mess courtesy of Rodtang’s vicious shots.  

Talking about the fight between his former rivals, the Jitmuangnon athlete believes it will be a pretty even matchup. While he thinks that the Englishman is going to be more comfortable at the weight class, he isn’t counting out his countryman. 

“This match is close. Both are elite fighters, and their skills are on par. It’ll depend on who makes mistakes first.  Jonathan Haggerty has the edge. In terms of weight, he has been fighting in this division for a long time. Anyway, I’ll root for [Superlek],” he said.

This will be the second time when the pair will face each other after they previously met in 2018. Haggerty lost the previous fight because of a doctor’s stoppage after he suffered a cut above his eye. However, things have changed a lot since the time the fight happened. ‘The General’ has grown not only in confidence but also has a lot more fights under his belt. This time around, he wants to settle things once and for all. 

Jonathan Haggerty is desperate to avenge his previous loss against Superlek

Two-sport champion Jonathan Haggerty seems to be on a mission as he prepares to defend his Muay Thai title in Denver. On September 6, ‘The General’ will face a familiar opponent in Superlek Kiatmoo9. Haggerty is leaving no stone unturned in his preparation as he is aware of threats possessed by his opponent.  The 27-year-old will have the opportunity to avenge his previous loss against the flyweight kickboxing champion, which he still believes was not the right call. He is excited about the fight but feels his previous fight came at a time when he was not at all prepared. 

Haggerty said, ‘The first fight with Superlek was about seven or six years ago. I shouldn’t have stepped into that one. I had about 13 fights, he had about 200-300 fights. He was the best in the world, and I was just an up-and-coming fighter.” Now, the 27-year-old is one of the most complete fighters in the sport and has improved his skill sets to take on the challenger. Haggerty has been working exceptionally hard in his training and hopes to peak at the right moment. He also claimed to have found some weaknesses in Superlek’s game during a recent interview with ONE Championship. He said, “We know what his weaknesses are and his strengths. He likes his right side. His right side is his best attributes – his kicks, his elbows. So we’re here to exploit them on September 6.”

Who do you think will win the fight between the two? Let us know about it in the comments below.