One Championship’s second-ranked bantamweight mixed martial arts contender, Stephen Loman, will be an interested spectator when two kings of his division clash in October.
At ONE Fight Night 15: Tawanchai vs. Superbon on Friday, October 6, MMA World Champion Fabricio Andrade will face Muay Thai king Jonathan Haggerty for the vacant ONE Bantamweight Kickboxing World Title.
Stephen Loman looking forward to Seeing Fabricio Andrade and Jonathan Haggerty
Loman believes it’ll be a barnburner, even though both men will compete away from the sport where they reign supreme. “Wow, this is a banger. Andrade’s background is really in Muay Thai, so I think he’ll adjust a bit of fighting in kickboxing. As for Haggerty, he’s been fighting in Muay Thai, and he’s now fighting under kickboxing rules, “, he told ONE Championship in an interview. “Both of them are natural strikers, and I expect this fight to be as explosive as possible.”
Andrade has put on a show every time he has stepped into the Circle, finishing five of his six opponents. With a 40-fight win record across the striking arts prior to switching to MMA, it would be foolish for anyone to think that the Brazilian star lacks the skills needed for his battle with Haggerty.
But not everyone has the credentials of ‘The General,’ who already has gold wrapped around him from one of the striking disciplines under the ONE banner. He did what 10 other men couldn’t come close to doing in knocking out Muay Thai legend Nong-O Hama.
Andrade is Loman’s pick for the upcoming clash
Loman believes Andrade is the more complete fighter of the two, but he says that won’t matter in this all-striking matchup. Given the rule set, ‘The Sniper’ is picking Haggerty to make history by joining the small group of two-sport World Champions in the world’s largest martial arts organization on October 6. “I think the advantage here belongs to Haggerty because he’s been fighting for so long under striking rules,” Loman said.
“Haggerty’s striking game is one of the best in the world, but it’s his push kicks that are his best weapons. He does it so well. As for Fabricio, although he can apply his striking in his MMA matches, he still uses his ground game a lot. Of course, he’s still training BJJ and wrestling during his normal fight camps, but now, he won’t be using those in this fight.”
