Jonathan Haggerty is a two-sport world champion after a two-round demolition of Fabricio Andrade.
The British fighter now adds the ONE bantamweight kickboxing world title to his Muay Thai crown at the same weight to become one of the most decorated, and respected, fighters in the world of combat sports.
Going into this one it was tough to call but Andrade, the current bantamweight MMA world champion, could not live with the accuracy and volume of blows thrown by his opponent.
26-year-old Haggerty started brightly with a range of strikes with both hands and feet making his Brazilian opponent look slow and flat-footed at times. With the first round comfortably in the bag, he would pick up the pace in the second stanza, wobbling Andrade with a left high kick, before closing the distance and letting his fists fly. After a barrage of punches, a right hand fully penetrated the defences, sending Andrade to the canvas, and the referee waved it off.
Haggerty not only joined a select band of two-sport world champion, but also pocketed a $100,000 performance bonus for his work.
It was also a huge night for America’s Tye Ruotolo. He joined his twin brother Kade in becoming a ONE submission grappling world champion at the age of just 19.
In front of a packed out crowd at the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Thailand, Ruotolo overwhelmed Dagestani opponent Magomed Abdulkadirov to claim the inaugural ONE welterweight submission grappling world champion.
It was another sparkling performance from the teenager who dominated position throughout on his way to a unanimous decision victory. Abdulkadirov wa tenacious in his defence, but wasn’t given a look-in by a prodigy of the sport who can now count himself as a history maker.
Elsewhere there were wins for Seksan Or Kwanmuang, and Sinsamut Klinmee – while Turkey’s Halil Amir scored a blistering first-round win over Pakistan’s Ahmed Mujtaba. That is now three wins in a row in ONE for Amir – who boasts an undefeated professional record of 10-0 and is rapidly increasing his credentials in the lightweight MMA division.
