Gone was the Stamp Fairtex vs. Xiong Jing Nan main event that had been so highly anticipated, especially after Stamp had arrived stateside as a star in ONE’s U.S. debut. And gone was the ONE flyweight grappling title that had been attached to Mikey Musumeci, after he failed his hydration test for his match with Bebeto Oliveira.

Still, the event had Jonathan Haggerty facing Superlek for the promotion’s bantamweight Muay Thai title, plus John Lineker trying his hand at Muay Thai as well. On the MMA side, Adrian Lee returned for his second fight as a pro, while former double champ Aung La N Sang was also in action.

ONE 168 had memorable moments from the retirement announcement by MMA legend Demetrious Johnson to Renzo Gracie awarding ONE CEO Chatri Sityodtong his black belt in BJJ, it was one to remember.

Where to Watch ONE 168

Friday, September 6, 2024 finds ONE Championship at the Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado. The card airs live on Amazon Prime Video for users in the U.S. and Canada. Full results can be found below.

ONE 168: Haggerty vs. Superlek Results

Superlek Kiatmoo9 def. Jonathan Haggerty via R1 KO, 0:49 – for the ONE bantamweight Muay Thai championship
Mikey Musumeci vs. Bebeto Oliveira – submission grappling
Seksan Or Kwanmuang def. Liam Harrison via R2 TKO, 1:49 – Muay Thai
Shamil Erdogan def. Aung La N Sang via R2 TKO, 2:48 – MMA
John Lineker def. Asa Ten Pow via R2 KO, 2:50 – Muay Thai
Isi Fitikefu def. Hiroyuki Tetsuka via Unanimous Decision – MMA
Victoria Souza def. Alyse Anderson via Unanimous Decision – MMA
Adrian Lee def. Nico Cornejo via R1 SUB (RNC), 2:37 – MMA
Johan Ghazali def. Josue Cruz via R1 KO, 3:00 – Muay Thai
Johan Estupinan def. Sean Climaco via R2 TKO, 1:28 – Muay Thai

The post ONE 168: Haggerty vs. Superlek Full Results appeared first on Cageside Press.

Harrison, a fan favorite, has competed four times under the ONE Championship banner and has gone 2-2.  Now 38 years old, Harrison has not competed in nearly two years as he was sidelined by injury.

A visibly and understandably frustrated Harrison detailed the events leading to the controversy on the scale Thursday. Liam says that a couple hours prior, he passed the hydration test and got approval from a ONE Championship representative that he was on weight.

“On the day of the weigh-in, we asked the official ONE representative to check my weight on the official scales. I weighed in at 143lbs. and was advised to drink some water as I was under.”

After consuming 500ml or less, which is 1.1lbs. of water maximum, Harrison returned to the scale a few hours later for the official weigh ins.

“During the official weigh-in, after passing the hydration test, the same scales indicated I was 146 lbs. It is not possible to have put 3 lbs. on from the weight check after consuming less than 500 ml of water and urinating.” illustrated Liam.

It also explains Liam’s reaction of shock and disbelief at the official ONE 167 weigh ins that were streamed live to YouTube. Liam hadn’t missed weight in some 12 years, never under the ONE banner, and reflected, “Knowing this was broadcast live worldwide was humiliating.”

In his post, Liam states that the only way that this could have happened is, “Human error during the initial weigh-in or improper calibration of the scales during the weight check.” And in no way could blame be placed on Harrison or his team, hence his refusal to attempt to make weight again.

“Agreeing to do so under these circumstances would imply that I accept the initial failure, which is not the case. The error was not on my part, and it is unreasonable to expect me to re-make weight given these facts.”

Liam also detailed in his post his disappointment with the lack of accountability from ONE Championship in the matter stating, “ONE championship’s refusal to acknowledge their part in this error and their insistence that I re-make weight is unacceptable. I have yet to receive an apology or any accountability from ONE Championship.”

Harrison, who is already scheduled for a huge fight against Saeksan Or Kwanmuang in September, talked about how ultimately, it just doesn’t make sense to go ahead with the fight, now.

There’d be no chance to win a performance bonus and Liam wouldn’t be eligible for his opponent’s purse- who missed weight. Liam’s opponent, Katsuki Kitano, failed the hydration test three times and tipped the scales at 149lbs. when he officially passed said hydration test. Simply put by Liam,

“The potential for injury and the impact on my reputation outweigh the now diminished rewards.”

At the very least this situation raises some very big questions of that specific ONE representative and of the promotion itself. And as Harrison would go on to state towards the end of his post how important of a moment this instance is for the fair practices of the sport moving forward.

The post Liam Harrison Withdraws from ONE 167 Citing Weigh-in Disaster appeared first on Cageside Press.

Nong-O, known as one of the best pound-for-pound nak muay of the current era, was coming off of a devastating uppercut win over Felipe Lobo, completing his sixth title defense in quick succession since winning the inaugural ONE Muay Thai bantamweight title in 2019.

Title Defense #6! ✅

Nong-O catches Felipe Lobo with a flush uppercut and continues his reign as the most dominant Champion in the promotion.@ONEChampionship | #ONEX pic.twitter.com/2S5CdjnNO3

— Beyond Kickboxing (@Beyond_Kick) March 26, 2022

Liam Harrison, for his part, was coming off of his own knockout over the well-respected former Lumpinee Stadium champion Muangthai, which earned him a staggering $100,000 bonus from the promotion due to the fight being one of the most entertaining single round bouts in the promotion’s history. Harrison got dropped two times in quick succession to start the fight but came back with three straight knockdowns of his own to take home the victory and earn this title shot.

At thirty-five and thirty-six years of age, respectively, Nong-O and Harrison are two truly remarkable and unique examples of longevity in a sport that does not generally reward sticking around for so long. Most nak muay are fighting from a very young age in small shows in Thailand and rack up hundreds of bouts by the time they are in their mid-twenties, around which time they usually pass their prime. Nong-O, for example, has three-hundred and twenty-six bouts, but its not uncommon for someone ten years younger than him to have about as many, as seen in the record of fellow ONE champion Rodtang Jitmuangnon, who has just six less fights at age twenty-five. As a side note, Liam Harrison has a paltry one-hundred and sixteen fights under his belt, which is a bit more common among farangs.

The bout started with Nong-O working his leg kicks and jab clinically. As a fighter who builds into fights as they go it could be expected that he would not come out like a firebrand, which is usually Liam Harrison’s methodology, although for his part the challenger was being more careful here against such a tough test. However, the champion landed an big right hand early that got Liam’s attention. Soon he followed it up with a low leg kick that buckled the leg of his foe and left him visibly weakened. Another perfect leg kick followed in short order, sending the Brit to the floor and causing a ten-count. Harrison howled in pain and shook his head at one point, causing the referee called it off. The power and placement of the kicks, all right on the knee of ‘The Hitman,’ did an extraordinary amount of damage in such a short time, even relative to the the high standards of Thai leg kicks.

https://twitter.com/elcucxy/status/1563374864597401601

Liam Harrison was able to walk out of the cage with all watchers surely hoping he would have no long-term damage. Regardless, this was the lucky number seventh title defense for the legend Nong-O, his fourth knockout in a row, and he did it in less than a third of the time of any of his other knockouts in ONE Championship. It was a quick night at the office and he received a $50,000 bonus for his efficient efforts.

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