At ONE 168: Denver, Superlek Kiatmoo9 ascended to a new plateau of greatness. The Thai phenom defeated Jonathan Haggerty to become the ONE Bantamweight Muay Thai World Champion by knockout in only 49 seconds. The win made him a ONE Championship two-sport, two-division king and the unequivocal pound-for-pound king.
Making the night more special was competing inside the Ball Arena in Denver. “The Kicking Machine” was happy to continue the sport’s growth in America. The electric finish captivated the audience and surely created even more new fans of four-ounce Muay Thai.
“I’m extremely grateful for the chance that I have here. I want everybody, all over America and the world, to see how incredible Muay Thai is, the danger, the excitement, everything about Muay Thai,” Superlek mentioned at the ONE 168 post-event press conference.
The end came when Superlek nailed Haggerty with an elbow as the Brit came forward. It was not an unplanned strike or merely a lucky shot but rather something Superlek had identified leading into the match. It worked to a championship degree and will enter all future highlight reels.
“This is actually something I trained for. I know that when you use an elbow, the elbow would get there before the cross, so I was just waiting for the opportunity to hit him with the elbow, because I know Haggerty got a very strong cross. This is something that I thought about during the fight. When I was in the fight, in the beginning, I thought that if I fight in this slow, methodical style, there’s no way I could beat him. So I switched to a more aggressive, fast style, and I ended it quickly,” the bantamweight Muay Thai king remarked.
In elevating the sport of Muay Thai globally, Superlek also wants to increase the notoriety of Thai athletes. Superlek was adamant he wanted to show the American audience the level of skill Thai strikers had and not just the excitement of wild matches. His outstanding performance certainly helped in those efforts.
“I just wanted to show that I’m a Thai fighter. We Thai fighters are strong and have amazing skills that can be showcased all over the world,” Superlek stated.
“The Kicking Machine” scored a $50,000 performance bonus for his blistering KO of Haggerty. While it would be fun to spend that money lavishly, Superlek has other plans. The benevolent king will give back to his family and help lead the way for the next generation of athletes at his new gym.
“I am super happy that I got this bonus. First of all, the money is going to help support my family, my parents, that’s how I got here. Also, I recently opened a gym in Thailand, Superlek training gym, and I’ve got 10 or more young fighters there that I’m ready to support,” Superlek said.
In a recent episode of the Couch Warrior Podcast, host Mike welcomed Charalampos Grigoriou, who recently won a contract during season 7 of Dana White's Contender Series after knocking out Cameron Smotherman one minute into the fight. The conversation delved into Grigoriou's martial arts journey, his feelings on representing Cyprus and Greece, and future plans.
