New ONE Championship two-sport king Superlek Kiatmookao could be coming for Jonathan Haggerty's bantamweight kickboxing belt next.
Thailand's “Kicking Machine” recorded a stunning 49-second win against the Briton in Friday's ONE 168 main event, scoring a knockout with the first elbow he threw in front of a packed and frenzied Ball Arena.
Superlek added the ONE bantamweight Muay Thai belt to a collection that also includes flyweight kickboxing gold, and now he is eyeing Haggerty's other title.
“If there's a chance,” the 28-year-old told the Bangkok Post backstage after the post event press conference had concluded.
“Jonathan haggerty is the champion of kickboxing, and if there's a chance now I'd like to fight for it.”
Haggerty himself had been eyeing a defence against any of the former ONE kickboxing champs Petchtanong, Ilias Ennahachi or Hiroki Akimoto, but may now have to prepare for Superlek once again.
It was a gruelling camp for “The General”, who spent a month training in Denver, while Superlek only arrived in the United States six days before the fight.
Questions had surrounded Superlek's ability to deal with the punishing altitude in the “Mile High City”, but he insisted he would have been ready to go the distance if the fight had not ended so quickly.
“Well I knew I was going to finish the fight, but I didn't think it was going to come that quickly,” Superlek added.
“If the fight had dragged on all five rounds, I was definitely ready. I came here to do that.”
Haggerty had also been looking to make history as the first concurrent three-sport champion in ONE, with a bid to claim Fabricio Andrade's MMA belt.
Superlek on the other hand is less committed to the idea of crossing into mixed martial arts – though mixed rules could be a possibility.
“I have been curious about it and perhaps in a special rules fight, we'll see,” he said.
What's more certain is Superlek's status as the greatest pound-for-pound striker in ONE Championship, and perhaps even across any promotion on the planet.
But he did not wish to take such plaudits.
“I don't think I'm quite there yet,” he said. “I still have a way to go in terms of getting used to the ruleset of ONE, and fighting in an exciting style to really bring my style to the rest of the world.”
It may have been mission accomplished in that regard, with Superlek the recipient of a resounding reception on his way to the Circle at Ball Arena.
The crowd became similarly raucous after Superlek's astonishing finish of Haggerty, who just about answered the referee's 10 count but was out on his feet after being knocked flat onto his back by a thunderous elbow.
Haggerty himself had collected two US$100,000 double bonuses for his knockout victories over Nong-O Hama and Andrade in 2023, but Superlek had to settle here for the usual $50,000 bonus here.
“I think this is already plenty enough,” he said, laughing, when asked if he deserved more from ONE chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong.
