ONE Bantamweight Muay Thai Champion Jonathan Haggerty will face ONE Bantamweight Champion Fabricio Andrade for the vacant ONE Kickboxing World Championship on November 3, 2023, in Bangkok, Thailand. Former champion Petchtanong Petchfergus was stripped of the title in July after testing positive for metenolone and boldenone, substances banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency.
A Muay Thai competitor since the age of 8, Haggerty debuted in ONE FC in 2019. In just his second bout in the organization, the 26-year-old Brit beat legend Sam-A Gaiyanghadhao for the ONE Flyweight Muay Thai World Title. After losing the belt to Rodtang Jitmuangnon, “The General” went on to beat Nong-O Gaiyanghadao for the ONE Bantamweight Muay Thai World Championship in 2022.
Tye Ruotolo vs. Magomed Abdulkadirov has been added to ONE Fight Night 16 for the inaugural ONE Welterweight Submission Grappling Championship. #ONEFightNight16 | November 3rd pic.twitter.com/64JbXvtvcp
— Combat Sports Today 📰 (@CSTodayNews) October 4, 2023
Fabricio “Wonder Boy” Andrade overcame a poverty-stricken childhood in Brazil and low self-esteem to become the ONE Bantamweight World Champion. He stopped former UFC veteran and knockout artist John Lineker at ONE Fight Night 7 this February to win the title. Haggerty and he were originally scheduled to fight at ONE Fight Night 15 on October 7, 2023, but the bout was cancelled due to unknown reasons.
Jonathan Haggerty vs Fabricio Andrade: Stats and record
Jonathan Haggerty and Fabricio Andrade are almost identical in terms of physical attributes. Both of them are 26-years-old, stand 5 feet 7 inches in height and fight in the 145 lbs division. Haggerty has a slight reach advantage with a 72.4 inch reach compared to Andrade’s 71.1 inch.
The Brit has competed exclusively in Muay Thai. He has 21 wins and 4 losses with 12 knockouts. The Brazilian has competed in Kickboxing and MMA. His Kickboxing record stands at 20 wins and 3 losses with 7 knockouts. In 12 MMA bouts, he has 9 victories, 2 losses and 1 no contest.
Haggerty moved up to Bantamweight after having problems making Flyweight in 2022. Being a pure Muay Thai fighter, he is considered to have the advantage over Andrade in this fight. Moreover, the latter has not fought in a Kickboxing bout in four years.
Andrade, however, believes otherwise. He pointed out that Haggerty has fought solely in Muay Thai bouts whereas he has a wealth of Kickboxing experience. He does not think that the long break will affect his performance.
Andrade admitted that Haggerty is a master technician who will exploit the smallest of weaknesses, but still believes he has a couple of major advantages. Firstly, he pointed out that since this is a Kickboxing bout, Haggerty will be deprived of elbows, one of his favorite weapons.
Secondly, Andrade thinks that Haggerty will be at a disadvantage when it comes to size and strength since he is moving up a weight class. He states that this might force Haggerty to adopt a more defensive strategy to avoid his power and land counter-punches when he can.
Ultimately, this contest might come down to a matter of size and strength versus speed and technique. Both Haggerty and Andrade are ferocious competitors who are not known to retreat. Who will triumph in their attempt to become a two-sport World Champion at ONE Fight Night 16 on November 3, 2023? Tell us in the comments.
