Liam Harrison Weighs In On Nico Carrillo And Jonathan Haggerty; Hopes For ONE Championship Event In UK
Beloved British Muay Thai legend Liam “Hitman” Harrison has given his thoughts on the much-discussed potential matchup between two of the United Kingdom’s biggest striking stars – Nico “King of the North” Carrillo and reigning ONE Bantamweight Kickboxing World Champion Jonathan “The General” Haggerty.
Also the founder of Hitman Fight League, which recently hosted a successful Road to ONE tournament in the UK, the 39-year-old Harrison has a unique perspective.
A former ONE World Title challenger at bantamweight, Carrillo recently moved up to the heavier featherweight division.
Harrison told onefc.com that the physical differences between the two fighters may have ended hopes for this dream matchup:
“I’m not bothered about it anymore. Nico is twice the size of Jonathan Haggerty now that he’s moved up to featherweight. Did you see how big he looked versus Sitthichai? Wow.”
Indeed, the Scottish knockout artist impressed in his return to the featherweight Muay Thai division in April at ONE Fight Night 30, dispatching Thai great Sitthichai Sitsongpeenong in brutal fashion.
Haggerty, meanwhile, is a former flyweight titleholder who now competes at bantamweight, where he holds 26 pounds of gold.
According to Harrison, that size difference is too much to overcome:
“[Carrillo] looked like an animal against Sitthichai, so I’m looking forward to seeing how he does there. Jon’s bantamweight through and through. So I think the ship has sailed now.”
Despite plenty of fan fervor in seeing the two UK superstars collide, Harrison believes both fighters can thrive in their respective weight classes without crossing paths.
While Carrillo is now ranked #4 in the featherweight Muay Thai division and is undoubtedly hungry to climb his way toward a shot at the divisional crown, Haggerty has no shortage of potential World Title challengers in the bantamweight kickboxing division.
“Hitman” added:
“I think they can both do great things in their divisions.”
Harrison: ONE Championship In The UK Would Be ‘Incredible’
Even though the Nico Carrillo-Jonathan Haggerty showdown may not materialize, Liam Harrison sees tremendous potential for the world’s largest martial arts organization to host an event in the United Kingdom before his career ends.
In addition to Carrillo and Haggerty, top UK strikers like George “G-Unit” Jarvis, Freddie Haggerty, and Otis Waghorn are all making waves in ONE.
Harrison is confident that with that kind of talent, the organization could stack a UK card with local heroes:
“I have no idea how it works, but I think they had an incredible chance with Jonathan Haggerty versus Nico Carrillo, which didn’t come to fruition. Even without that now, I still think there’s the chance to build an incredible card.”
What’s more, Harrison himself would love to compete at ONE’s debut in the UK, joining the wealth of talent currently on the roster.
With the conclusion of his iconic career looming, he hopes ONE pulls the trigger on a blockbuster UK event soon:
“I could fight, the Haggerty brothers could fight, Nico can too. So could George Jarvis and Liam Nolan. The talent is all there, and they could do serious numbers. I just don’t know how long it takes to make moves like that. But I hope they can do that before I retire!”
