ONE Bantamweight Muay Thai World Champion Jonathan “The General” Haggerty believes his teammate “Lethal” Liam Nolan is capable of following in his footsteps and winning gold in ONE Championship.
The British strikers will both feature at ONE Fight Night 16: Haggerty vs. Andrade on Prime Video in U.S. primetime on November 3, and “The General” knows Nolan can thrust himself into World Title contention with a victory over Sinsamut Klinmee in their lightweight Muay Thai rematch.
The strikers have trained together in London for years and have forged similar styles, so Haggerty – who is preparing to face Fabricio Andrade for the vacant ONE Bantamweight Kickboxing World Title – has no doubt that Nolan can succeed against the elite.
He spoke to onefc.com ahead of their battles at Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand:
“I think Liam Nolan is one of the greatest strikers on this planet today. He’s got a great chance of winning [the rematch with Sinsamut]. And I do believe he will win the ONE Lightweight Muay Thai World Title.
“I see Liam train day in, day out. I’m alongside him in training camp and see the hard work he puts in. He is literally a bigger version of me. And if he can believe it, he can achieve it.”
Nolan is in the midst of a good run, winning three of his last four contests, with his lone loss in that period coming to Sinsamut in July 2022.
The Londoner has been desperate to avenge that knockout defeat – which propelled Sinsamut to an unsuccessful World Title shot against Regian Eersel – and Haggerty says his teammate is well-prepared to do just that:
“Liam knows what he has to do and the mistakes he made last time. He knows what mistakes not to make again. He and Christian [Knowles, head coach] have got a pretty strong game plan, but I can’t tell you that bit.
“The main thing is he needs to put aside the last fight, go in with a fresh mindset, and go in to take him out. Show no respect, go in and show him who’s the best, and show why he’s worthy enough to be the World Champion.”
Jonathan Haggerty And Liam Nolan Thriving Together In Thailand
Liam Nolan recently joined Jonathan Haggerty in Koh Samui, Thailand, to prepare for their ONE Fight Night 16 matchups.
Now armed with plenty of experience, Haggerty believes it will be a huge benefit for his teammate to acclimatize ahead of a huge showdown in Bangkok.
He explained:
“Liam coming out to Thailand for the last three weeks before the fight, I think it’s a great idea. He can adapt to the heat. And just being alongside all of us as a team out here, we live it.
We’re fighting in Thailand, so we’re training in Thailand now. That’s going to play a big part. It played a big part in my last fight, and hence why I chose to move to Thailand for the rest of my fights here.”
Along with physiological adaptations to the climate and time zone, “The General” also sees benefits from a mental standpoint.
As key training partners and friends for years, the British strikers thrive in each other’s company, and Haggerty says it brings out the best in both of them as they do their daily grind before showtime.
He added:
“We motivate each other. We push each other, and we’re going to be on the same show so we’ve got each other to bounce off, which is great. It’s great confidence.”
