Jonathan Haggerty Won’t Sleep On Anyone In Flyweight Muay Thai Grand Prix Semis
Despite being forced to withdraw from his ONE Flyweight Muay Thai World Grand Prix quarterfinal fight in May, Jonathan “The General” Haggerty is excited to see how the stacked tournament plays out.
The British striker still has a chance to re-enter the main bracket if he beats Amir Naseri in a Grand Prix alternate bout at ONE on Prime Video 1: Moraes vs. Johnson II, which airs live in U.S. primetime on August 26.
And later that evening, Haggerty’s former foe and reigning ONE Flyweight Muay Thai World Champion Rodtang “The Iron Man” Jitmuangnon will face #4 contender Savvas “The Baby Face Killer” Michael in one of the semifinal contests.
Rodtang will certainly be favored, but “The General” believes Michael has the ability to upset the Thai megastar at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.
He offered:
“It’s three rounds. The first fight I had with Rodtang, he didn’t hit me in the first three rounds, and I absolutely picked him apart, so I think Savvas has got a good chance for three rounds. It’s interesting. I think Rodtang will win but Savvas does have a chance.”
Before those two fights take place in North American primetime, ONE 160: Ok vs. Lee II will air earlier on August 26 and feature the other semifinal clash.
In that matchup, #1-ranked contender Superlek “The Kicking Machine” Kiatmoo9 will take on #5-ranked Walter Goncalves.
Once again, Haggerty sees a favorite in Thai star Superlek, but he won’t write off the Brazilian upstart’s ability to advance in the tournament.
“The General” said:
“Do you know what? I am giving Walter a chance in that one. I wasn’t too impressed with his last performance when [Josue Cruz] stepped in. It was a bit of a shame. I feel like the other guy [crumbled under the pressure], but Walter is going to train as hard as he can.
“He’s tricky. Superlek struggled with Taiki Naito for the first few minutes. And if you see what I did to Naito, I absolutely obliterated him. Superlek struggled a little bit with his style, so he might struggle with Walter. So everybody has a chance.”
Jonathan Haggerty Sees Superlek And Rodtang As Tournament Favorites
Despite Jonathan Haggerty’s opinion that Savvas Michael and Walter Goncalves have the skills to trouble Rodtang Jitmuangnon and Superlek Kiatmoo9, he still believes the Thai superstars are most likely to meet in the ONE Flyweight Muay Thai World Grand Prix Championship Final.
Haggerty admires the effective – although extremely different – styles of the two men, but he’s struggling to pick a winner if Rodtang and Superlek go head-to-head.
At the same time, the former divisional king is cheering for one striker in particular.
He added:
“I think Superlek is the favorite. It’s hard to pick though isn’t it, if Superlek met Rodtang in the final? So hard. Actually, if I had to, I’d say Rodtang. Because if he comes up against Superlek he’s going to train as hard as he can, but I wouldn’t put any money on it.
“I hope it’s Superlek [that wins the tournament] though, as I’d love to fight him.”
