Experienced Thai striker Superlek put an end to Jonathan Haggerty’s run as ONE 145-pound Muay Thai champion without breaking a sweat on Friday night, catching him with an elbow to score a stoppage in 49 seconds.
Superlek’s lightning-quick win headlined ONE 168, the promotion’s second-ever card from the U.S., a presentation from the Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado.
A slick right elbow from Superlek stunned a charging-forward Haggerty, causing the U.K.-based fighter to go crashing down onto the canvas. Haggerty attempted to get to his feet after a significant pause but didn’t recover quickly enough for the fight to continue.
The quick outcome earned Superlek a second title in ONE, as the decorated fighter previously captured a kickboxing bout at 135 pounds. The 28-year-old now has an impressive run of 11 wins in the promotion, including recent wins over accomplished strikers Rodtang and Takeru.
“I want to thank all the fans here for giving me the support and the energy for doing what I just did,” he said through an interpreter in his post-fight interview.
Haggerty was looking to defend his Muay Thai belt for the second time since he ended the lengthy run of Nong-O Gaiyanghadao last year. He previously defended the belt with a finish win over Felipe Lobo in February.
Superlek and Haggerty already had some history with eachother prior to Friday, having previously met in 2018 before either fighter’s time in ONE. Superlek also prevailed in that instance, earning a doctor stoppage win after two rounds.
In the top MMA bout of the night, Turkish prospect Shamil Erdogan dominated former ONE champ Aung La N Sang to score a second-round stoppage. Erdogan closed out his one-sided performance with ground and pound, getting N Sang to the canvas and wailing away with shots. He now has a flawless record of 10 wins.
Former UFC fighter John Lineker picked up a Muay Thai victory, using wild flurries of shots to overwhelm former GLORY Kickboxing talent Asa Ten Pow and force a finish in the second round.
Earlier in the night, Australia’s Isi Fitikefu brought an end to Hiroyuki Tetsuka’s five-fight winning streak in ONE with a decision win. Adrian Lee—the younger brother of notable ONE talents Angela and Adrian Lee—scored his second pro win early in the night with a first-round submission win over Nico Cornejo.
Here are the quick results for ONE 168:
Main Card (8:00PM EDT / 6:00PM MDT) (Amazon Prime Video)
Bout 9: Superlek Kiatmoo9 def. Jonathan Haggerty via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 0:49) (ONE Muay Thai Bantamweight Championship) (145 lbs)
Bout 8: Seksan def. Liam Harrison via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 1:49) (Muay Thai)
Bout 7: Shamil Erdogan def. Aung La N Sang via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 2:48)
Bout 6: John Lineker def. Asa Ten Pow via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 2:50) (Muay Thai)
Bout 5: Victoria Souza def. Alyse Anderson via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 4: Isi Fitikefu def. Hiroyuki Tetsuka via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 3: Adrian Lee def. Nico Cornejo via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (RD 1, 2:37)
Bout 2: Johan Ghazali def. Josue Cruz via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 3:00) (Muay Thai)
Bout 1: Johan Estupinan def. Sean Climaco via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 1:28) (Muay Thai)
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