Summer is just about over in the Northern Hemisphere. Even though Meteorological Fall is in full effect now, one of the summer’s last great combat sports events takes place this Friday night. While NFL fans will be fixated on the Green Bay Packers vs. Philadelphia Eagles game in Brazil, fans of competitive violence will have their eyes peeled on Denver.
Ball Center, the home arena of the NBA‘s Denver Nuggets and NHL‘s Colorado Avalanche, holds one of the most anticipated events of 2024. ONE Championship heads back to the United States for ONE 168 this Friday.
Live coverage of ONE 168 begins at 8 pm ET/ 5 pm PT on Amazon Prime Video inside the United States and Canada only and is included at no extra cost for Amazon Prime subscribers. If you are in the United Kingdom and Ireland, Sky Sports will carry ONE 168 at 1 am local time Saturday. Elsewhere, ONE 168 is available as a pay-per-view on its official Website.
Bantamweight Muay-Thai Rematch in ONE 168 Main Event Friday Night
All told, barring any further late postponements or cancellations between now and Friday night, the final version of ONE 168 features an 11-fight card across the combative disciplines ranging from MMA, kickboxing, and the focus of the ONE 168 main event, Muay-Thai.
A planned lightweight submission grappling championship contest between Kade Ruotolo and Mikey Musumeci was scrubbed after Ruotolo revealed on Instagram on Sunday that he’ll be unable to make the walk. We’ll have a rematch at 145 lbs. as the headliner.
The ONE Bantamweight Muay-Thai Championship will be at stake in the ONE 168 main event of the evening. Incumbent ONE Bantamweight Muay-Thai and Kickboxing Champion Jonathan Haggerty (23-4 kickboxing, 8-2 ONE Championship) battles challenger and current ONE Flyweight Kickboxing Champion Superlek Kiatmoo9 (138-29-4 kickboxing, 14-1 ONE Championship.)
As with all ONE Muay-Thai championship affairs, the ONE 168 main event will be an advertised maximum of five rounds at three minutes per round to close the show. The three-knockdown rule is in effect for this fight. Should a contender knock his opponent down three times in a round or four times in a match, that man is the winner by TKO.
Only ONE week to go ⏳🔥 Who's leaving Denver as the ONE Bantamweight Muay Thai World Champion? 🏆#ONE168 | Sep 6 at 8PM ET/Sep 7 at 7AM ICT
🇺🇸🇨🇦 Watch Live on Prime 👉 https://t.co/0ZILlG5VTp
🇬🇧🇮🇪 Watch Live on Sky Sports
🎟️ Get your tickets now 👉 https://t.co/qEGQBRoeyH pic.twitter.com/FTO86jWXwO— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) August 31, 2024
The Series So Far
Heading into ONE 168 on Friday night, the all-time series between Haggerty and Superlek stands at 1-0 in favor of the latter. Back in October of 2018, Superlek scored a second-round TKO after Haggerty could not continue in the match upon sustaining a cut. How will the rematch play out?
ONE 168 Main Event Fighter Comparison
Heading into the ONE 168 main event this weekend, champion Jonathan Haggerty stands as the taller man at 5-foot-7, compared to the 5-foot-4 frame of Superlek Kiatmoo9. Haggerty owns a one-inch reach advantage (72 inches to 71 inches) over Superlek.
Currently, the oddsmakers have no money lines available for ONE 168 on Friday. If you plan on betting on this or any other fight in MMA and/or combat sports this week, please wager responsibly.
Haggerty Looks to Avenge 2018 Loss Friday
Jonathan Haggerty enters the ONE 168 main event Friday night having gone 5-0 in his last five fights. Currently, he’s won seven matches in a row.
Back in February of this year, he celebrated his birthday in grand style, scoring a third-round TKO due a right cross over Felipe Lobo (3-3 ONE Championship) in the ONE on Prime Video 19 main event.
After the fight, Haggerty talked about his effort in the ring.
“If I’m totally honest, I’m not really happy with that performance, but the main thing is we got it done,” Haggerty began. “I’m just used to being in and out, bouncing around, hitting and not getting hit, but a lot of people said to me, ‘It can’t always be your way.’ And I just showed tonight that I’ve got heart.”
Although he came away with a win almost seven months ago, he’s going to need to turn in a better performance on Friday night, especially given that the ONE 168 main event is a rematch. Will he run his winning streak to an eighth straight fight?
Superlek Faces Quick Turnaround for ONE 168 Main Event
In the other corner, Superlek Kiatmoo9 has posted a mark of 5-0 in his last five fights. Currently, he’s on a 12-fight winning streak.
Back at the end of June, he bested Kongthoranee Sor Sommai (8-2 ONE Championship) during ONE Friday Fights 68 in Bangkok. While the ONE 168 main event was announced five months ago, Superlek has had a brief hiatus of only slightly over two months’ time.
Could the quick turnaround prove detrimental? Only time will tell.
Analysis, Film Study, and Prediction
With both of these men coming in on lengthy winning streaks, expect this main event to deliver some fireworks.
Look for Haggerty to Show a Little Bit of Everything
Jonathan Haggerty is known to make fighters pay once the bell tolls to start off a fight. His varied attacks could be the catalyst to another victory for him, like they were vs. Mongkolpetch a couple of years ago.
Throughout the fight, Haggerty pieced up his adversary with a mixture of strikes, including elbow shots and kicks to the head, despite Mongkolpetch landing body shots and right-handed punches in round two. Another elbow from Haggerty at the start of round three gave Mongkolpetch a cut above his temple, followed up by a body shot.
Despite Haggerty’s offensive acumen, Mongkolpetch wouldn’t go down, giving him the win by unanimous decision. If Haggerty can mix up his shots to keep Superlek guessing, this fight is his.
Superlek Can Bring the Pain
In the other corner, Superlek Kiatmoo9 is able to land vicious strikes. Just look at the tape of his 2019 fight vs. Rui Bothelo. During the opening round’s opening minute, Superlek knocked Bothelo down with an overhand right.
While he pawed at his right eye between rounds one and two, he turned up the volume in the middle stanza, scoring with a barrage of shots and forcing Bothelo to back up. Although Bothelo landed a few shots, Superlek was on a mission to overpower him.
At times throughout the fight, Superlek was urging Bothelo to throw a strike his way. He wouldn’t take his foot off the gas pedal down the stretch and scored the unanimous decision after nine minutes. All Superlek has to do here is come out swinging right from the opening bell.
Final Thoughts
While summer may now be unofficially over, the ONE 168 main event provides what’s among the summer’s last thrills. Don’t miss this contest.
Prediction: Superlek Kiatmoo9 by Unanimous Decision.
