Red-hot ONE Championship strawweight and striking arts aficionado Lito “Thunder Kid” Adiwang couldn’t be more excited for ONE 168: Denver on Sept. 7.
Adiwang knows fans are in for a treat when two-sport ONE World Champion Jonathan “The General” Haggerty defends his ONE Bantamweight Muay Thai World Title against flyweight titlist Superlek “The Kicking Machine” Kiatmoo9 this Saturday in the promotion’s return to Denver, Colorado, this time inside Ball Arena.
The SOMA Fight Club representative believes it’s going to be a clash between a known kicker in Superlek and the heavy-handed Haggerty – with the Thai pushing the action and the Brit sitting back and waiting to land a power shot.
“Given that both are the best [in what they do] it’s hard to pick, but for me styles make fights every time,” Adiwang said.
“Superlek is called the kicking machine for a reason, and he got good elbows. But I see Haggerty [solving] that problem by blocking the kicks and countering with his power punches,” he added.
“That will be his key to victory in this fight. Shutting down Superlek’s kick and countering with his power punches.”
Haggerty and Superlek faced each other before they were two of the biggest stars in ONE Championship, with the Thai scoring a doctor stoppage victory over the young “General” in the United Kingdom.
Adiwang, though, feels like Haggerty’s gotten much better since their last fight, and he sees the two-sport king keeping that distinction.
“I feel that Haggerty got the advantage this time around even though in their first in counter Superlek won. I see that Haggerty has evolved and got sharper, so I give him the advantage in this fight,” he said.
Regardless of the results, Adiwang believes that the biggest winners are fans of Muay Thai, as the sport finally takes centerstage in the United States with two of the best in the world bannering the card.
“This matchup is fantastic. Not only will we witness two of the best athletes in their prime face each other and prove who is the real champ,” he said.
“We’ll also get to show the beauty of striking to America and prove that ONE got the best strikers in the world.”
