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

It’s a huge deal because it will be live from Ball Arena in Denver and it marks arguably the biggest fight in recent history between two of the best in the world today. Jonathan Haggerty revealed why this matchup is very special to him. “You know, the opportunity to fight one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world. I do believe he’s one of the best up there. And just to get the opportunity to step in there with him – and just the fans. They’re going to have an explosive fight. They’re going to have an exciting night. I’m excited for the fans just to see me and Superlek come together. I feel like a lot of people wanted this fight, including myself,” he said.

He further revealed his and Superlek’s style, saying, “I feel our styles are the same. We’re both aggressive. We both come for the knockout. I’d say we’re both up there as pound-for-pound bests. He’s the best in flyweight. I’m the best in bantamweight. So, why not put us together and see who is the best?” Interestingly, this is not the first time they are fighting against each other, so let’s see what happened during match #1.

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

The duo had met for the first time in 2018 before they landed on the world-famous stage with ONE Championship. ‘The Kicking Machine’ and ‘The General’ went to war at Yokkao 31 & 32 in the United Kingdom. In that fight, Superlek opened up Haggerty with a cut above his eye, and the fight was subsequently stopped by the doctor because of the severity of the injury.

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

However, the pair is getting another chance to face off and fans in over 190 countries can watch all the action live and for free, including coverage from Amazon Prime Video for fans in the United States and Canada. The tickets are also available via Ticketmaster.

Superlek’s mentality going into ONE 168 fight

The two-sport king seems pretty unfazed ahead of one of the toughest fights of his career against Superlek Kiatmoo9. The 27-year-old is excited for the fight nonetheless and says that he only wants the toughest opponents in his career. He stated that the fight was going to be hard, but it is a motivator for him.

Meanwhile, Superlek is also pretty pumped for the fight because he admires his opponent and always wanted a rematch. On top of that, he was also not happy that he was doubted during his first fight with Haggerty. In an interview with Nation Thailand magazine, he said, “I’m not happy that I was questioned, as if I wasn’t able to win without the stoppage. I want to prove people wrong.”

‘The General’ is unbeaten since he moved up to Bantamweight and he has won six fights overall since losing the ONE Flyweight Muay Thai World Title to Rodtang Jitmuangnon in 2020. On the other hand, Superlek has a 10-fight winning streak and this time, the 28-year-old promised to show a different style of his game. “This fight will be the first time I’ll go 100 % all out, putting a lot of pressure. I will be aggressive,” he said in the same interview.

This fight is going to be explosive, and both fighters are looking for a knockout. Who do you think is going to win this time? Let us know your pick in the comments below.