Superlek Kiatmoo9 Scores First-Round Finish Of Jonathan Haggerty To Win ONE Bantamweight Muay Thai World Title
In the ONE 168 main event from Denver, Colorado, ONE Flyweight Kickboxing World Champion “The Kicking Machine” Superlek Kiatmoo9 made quick work of former two-sport king Jonathan “The General” Haggerty to claim the latter’s ONE Bantamweight Muay Thai World Title.
After months of intense buildup, Superlek needed less than one round to dust off Haggerty. As the Englishman committed to a straight right hand, Superlek ducked under to connect with a well-placed counter elbow that sent “The General” crashing to the canvas.
Haggerty took a few moments to try to compose himself with his back on the ground. But he didn’t return to his feet on time, prompting the referee to call a halt to the contest and award the knockout victory to Superlek.
With the win, “The Kicking Machine” became a two-sport, two-division ONE World Champion.
In the co-main event, Thai icon Seksan “The Man Who Yields To No One” Or Kwanmuang delivered a thrilling performance in his U.S. debut by defeating British legend Liam “Hitman” Harrison in a 140-pound catchweight Muay Thai bout.
Seksan launched an aggressive attack right from the opening bell, overwhelming Harrison with a series of powerful elbows in close quarters. The action in the Circle more than lived up to the hype, as the two elite strikers went toe-to-toe at every juncture.
However, it didn’t take long for Seksan to turn the corner and author the finishing sequence in round two. He kicked it off with a slicing elbow that had Harrison sprawling on the canvas for a knockdown.
“Hitman” tried his best to recover, racing to his feet to beat the count. But Seksan poured on the punishment and scored two more knockdowns to complete the technical knockout.
Earlier in the evening, ONE Flyweight MMA World Champion and American legend Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson announced his retirement from mixed martial arts in an emotional moment in the Circle.
ONE 168: Denver Complete Results
Superlek Kiatmoo9 def. Jonathan Haggerty via KO (right elbow) at 0:49 of round one to claim the ONE Bantamweight Muay Thai World Title
Seksan Or Kwanmuang def. Liam Harrison via TKO at 1:49 of round two (Muay Thai – catchweight 140 lbs)
Shamil Erdogan def. Aung La N Sang via TKO (referee stoppage – ground and pound) at 2:48 of round two (MMA – catchweight 213.75 lbs)
John Lineker def. Asa Ten Pow via KO (right hook) at 2:50 of round two (Muay Thai – bantamweight)
Victoria Souza def. Alyse Anderson via unanimous decision (MMA – atomweight)
Isi Fitikefu def. Hiroyuki Tetsuka via unanimous decision (MMA – welterweight)
Adrian Lee def. Nico Cornejo via submission (rear-naked choke) at 2:37 of round one (MMA – lightweight)
Johan Ghazali def. Josue Cruz via KO (left hook) at 3:00 of round one (Muay Thai – catchweight 142 lbs)
Johan Estupinan def. Sean Climaco via TKO at 1:28 of round two (Muay Thai – flyweight)
Performance bonus winners:
– Superlek Kiatmoo9 (US$50,000)
– Seksan Or Kwanmuang (US$50,000)
– John Lineker (US$50,000)
– Adrian Lee (US$50,000)
– Johan Ghazali (US$50,000)
– Johan Estupinan (US$50,000)
