ONE Championship served up another exciting night of action at Lumpinee Boxing Stadium on Friday, April 21.
ONE Fight Night 9 provided a series of shocking moments, not the least of which was Jonathan Haggerty‘s main event destruction of Thai legend Nong-O Hama to claim the ONE bantamweight muay Thai world title.
While we received many answers in the ring, there are always new questions raised after a fight night, especially this one.
As the dust settles, here are some of the biggest ones that are lingering in our minds.
1. Is Haggerty’s world title win the biggest upset in ONE history?
Many fans and pundits alike are still picking their jaws up off the floor after Haggerty became the first man to defeat the great Nong-O in ONE Championship.
“The General” only needed one round to send the longtime bantamweight muay Thai king crashing to the canvas three times en route to a shocking knockout win.
Haggerty, then-ranked at No. 5, was the last top-5 contender to fight Nong-O and stood in his way of cleaning out the division, but that didn’t stress the Englishman. Not one bit.
Making the boilover even more incredible was the fact that it was Haggerty’s second fight in a heavier weight class since leaving the flyweight division – the first being a majority decision win over Vladimir Kuzmin last November.
Where the upset win ranks among the all-time list will be discussed at length over the coming weeks, but there is no doubting it is among the most shocking results in ONE history.
2. Is Bokang Masunyane next in line for a strawweight world title shot?
Second-ranked strawweight contender Bokang Masunyane (9-1) took a big step forward in the race to be the first challenger to new ONE strawweight world champion Jarred Brooks‘ throne.
“Little Giant” used his wrestling to great effect in a dominant unanimous decision victory over third-ranked Hiroba Minowa (13-4).
With just former divisional king Joshua Pacio ahead of him in the rankings, Masunyane holds a strong case for a rematch with “The Monkey God.”
However, the recency of that loss in April 2022 may count against the South African and cause him to get another victory first.
3. Did Felipe Lobo just steal the first shot at Haggerty?
Haggerty’s win over the weekend blew the bantamweight muay Thai division that Nong-O has reigned over since 2019 wide open.
But another upset also muddied the divisional waters.
Felipe Lobo crushed top-ranked contender Saemapetch Fairtex with a devastating third-round flurry that put the Thai superstar down for the count.
The resounding nature of Haggerty’s win means that an immediate Nong-O rematch is no certainty. However, Lobo has certainly seized the opportunity to put himself in the running by taking out the No. 1 contender.
