At ONE 167, Liam Harrison steps back into action for the first time since 2022. During his match against Nong-O Hama, “Hitman” suffered an injury that put him on the sidelines. The Brit returns to ONE Championship to take on Katsuki Kitano in a bantamweight Muay Thai contest, hoping to turn away Father Time and deliver another memorable performance.
“This sport is the highest of the highs and the lowest of the lows. I say this all the time. The fight before [the injury against Nong-O], I fought Muangthai. I knocked him out in the first round, it got voted Fight of the Year, five knockdowns in the space of 90 seconds. I got a $100,000 bonus from that fight. Then the next fight I leave on a stretcher and get put in the back of an ambulance. So what can you do? You’ve got to suck it up and be able to come back strong. And that’s what I’m doing,” Harrison told ONE.
The ups and downs have weighed heavy on Harrison’s mind. As he nears 40, Harrison is aware that his time in the sport is rapidly coming to an end. However, “Hitman” has shown champion-like resilience to battle back and return to active competition.
“It was very hard mentally to come back from this, especially as an older athlete. I had to push the boundaries of my mental strength. Luckily, I had a great rehab team behind me and great support from my family and friends,” Harrison stated.
During his absence, another Brit ascended to the top of the division. Jonathan Haggerty claimed the ONE Bantamweight Muay Thai World Title from Nong-O. Although the road back to a title shot seems like a long shot, Harrison is merely focused on being the best version of himself upon his return.
Due to his injury, Harrison adapted and changed elements of his training. The positive impacts have made him feel more confident than ever. When he walks down the ramp at ONE 167, Harrison plans to turn back the clock by unveiling the new version of the “Hitman.”
“When I was injured and out for the injury, all I worked on was explosive movements and things like that. So I changed my training, changed up a lot, and I feel like I’ve come back stronger than I was before,” the 38-year-old mentioned.
Kitano will not be an easy out in his return. Regardless, Harrison is ecstatic to be back in the fold and compete again. Overcoming the hardship of the injury to get back to action has allowed him to reignite his passion and enjoy the beauty of Muay Thai.
“Now I’m back to training like I was before. Getting lots of hard, hard sparring rounds in because, obviously while I’ve been out with injury, that’s what I missed. So I’m getting all that locked in now. I’m sparring with some real heavy hitters, some real sharp guys, and I’m just enjoying it. I was in pain all the time. The main thing is now I’m not. And I’m enjoying it again. So it’s gonna be good to be back,” Harrison said.
ONE 167 airs live from the Impact Arena in Bangkok on Friday, June 7. The action begins at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. The event airs live and free on Prime Video for all Amazon Prime subscribers based in the U.S. and Canada.
