With Bad Blood Brewing, Felipe Lobo Predicts Knockout Of Jonathan Haggerty At ONE Fight Night 19
Felipe “Demolition Man” Lobo’s World Title challenge of Jonathan “The General” Haggerty in the main event of ONE Fight Night 19 on Prime Video has been heating up for months.
Set for U.S. primetime on February 16, that matchup is the Brazilian’s chance to wrest the ONE Bantamweight Muay Thai World Title from Haggerty – a man he’s been verbally sparring with for almost a year.
Last April at ONE Fight Night 9, Lobo scored an epic come-from-behind victory over Thai star Saemapetch Fairtex to put himself back in the World Title picture.
Later that night, Haggerty knocked out longtime bantamweight Muay Thai kingpin Nong-O Hama in truly stunning fashion to capture the divisional gold.
According to Lobo, the newly crowned World Champion wasted no time in starting some beef:
“[Haggerty has] been calling me since my last fight with Saemapetch. When my fight with Saemapetch ended, back at the hotel, he walked past me and said, ‘I liked watching you fight. You’re next.'”
That brief run-in planted the seed of tension between the two proud strikers.
Seven months later at ONE Fight Night 16, Haggerty battled Lobo’s teammate, Fabricio “Wonder Boy” Andrade, putting on a sensational performance to claim the vacant ONE Bantamweight Kickboxing World Title.
“Demolition Man” was in Andrade’s corner that night, and after the bout, he exchanged words – fighting words – with the two-sport titleholder:
“On the day of the fight with Fabricio, it was the same thing. [Haggerty] walked past me and said, ‘You’re next.’
I said, ‘Let’s see what happens next time. I’m waiting for you.’ His coaches came and said a lot of things, but I couldn’t understand because everyone was talking at the same time. He likes to talk a lot. He is talkative.”
The 30-year-old admits that Haggerty’s penchant for trash talk has gotten to him.
Given the Brit’s confrontational attitude and disrespectful words, he’s more motivated than ever to shut him up on February 16:
“This confrontation certainly increased my desire to face him. Especially because in the ring, he said I was a nobody. So, I want to show him who I am.”
Lobo Sees Weakness In Haggerty: ‘He Can’t Take Many Hits’
Talk is one thing, but getting in the ring and taking the ONE Bantamweight Muay Thai World Title from Jonathan Haggerty is another.
To that end, Felipe Lobo has plenty of respect for “The General’s” skills and the unique problems he presents, but he also thinks the Brit has a weak chin and suspect defense.
He broke down the World Champion’s style:
“He knows how to use his boxing very well. He moves forward all the time and kicks very well. Furthermore, he has good feints that I need to pay attention to so as not to be surprised. But I believe his strong point is his speed. He moves very well.
“And his weak point is that he can’t take many hits. He’s very good at hitting, but when it comes to defending himself, protecting himself, he’s not so good.”
Considering his foe’s high-volume, all-action style of striking, “Demolition Man” says fans can expect an electrifying battle at ONE Fight Night 19.
He plans to meet Haggerty’s trademark aggression with aggression of his own and leave Bangkok as the new bantamweight Muay Thai king:
“Like I said, I think there will be a lot of striking in this fight. I’m preparing myself for everything, walking backward, moving forwards, to suppress, but I keep in mind that I can’t let him get comfortable in the fight.
“But my prediction is to win this fight by knockout. I’m going to knock him out – that’s my prediction.”
