A plan was made. A plan was executed. Jonathan Haggerty retained his ONE Bantamweight Kickboxing World Championship with a clinical third-round TKO of former divisional ruler Hiroki Akimoto in the main event of ONE SAMURAI 4 last Saturday in Tokyo, Japan, picking up a US$100,000 performance bonus.
The turning point arrived with a single crushing knee that dropped Akimoto to the canvas and handed Haggerty the first knockdown of the fight.
What followed was a controlled and merciless finishing sequence, the British champion unloading a relentless combination of strikes that left their mark all over Akimoto’s face before the Japanese veteran’s corner intervened and threw in the towel. The referee confirmed what the corner already knew, and Tokyo had its result.
For Haggerty, none of it came as a surprise. The knee was not improvised. It was scripted.
“The plan was to get the knees going in the second round, and it was the perfect game plan. My knees are my new elbows. I’ve had to exchange it. Until we get in a Muay Thai fight, the knees are the elbows for now,” he said.
Winning on enemy turf against a former champion in front of a packed Japanese crowd is no small feat, and “The General” acknowledged the level of his opponent after the final verdict.
“[Akimoto was] a great opponent, you know. It was a pleasure to share the Circle with him in Japan. He had all the skill set to be the best as well,” he explained.
The victory raises an intriguing question about what comes next for one of ONE Championship’s most decorated strikers.
Haggerty once held ONE World Titles in two different disciplines, and with the bantamweight Muay Thai crown now sitting on Yod-IQ Or Pimolsri’s shoulders, the appetite for two-sport glory has returned.
“For me, two-sport World Champion sounds good to me. I think I might be top now. [In kickboxing], I don’t think there is anybody in [this] division that could beat me, and I’m gonna stay the champion,” he added.
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