Jonathan Haggerty Out-Strikes Wei Rui in Five Round Championship Kickboxing War – ONE 171 Results
Jonathan Haggerty and Wei Rui were set to clash in a highly anticipated bantamweight kickboxing title bout at ONE 171: Qatar on Thursday, February 20, 2025, at the Lusail Sports Arena. This marked Haggerty’s first defense of his ONE Bantamweight Kickboxing World Championship
Jonathan Haggerty vs. Wei Rui Results
The General’ Jonathan Haggerty was once a two-sport world champion, holding both the ONE Bantamweight Kickboxing and Muay Thai titles. However, he had recently lost his Muay Thai belt to Superlek Kiatmuu9 in September 2024. With this kickboxing championship bout, Haggerty was looking to reassert his dominance in the striking world.
Wei Rui, the Chinese-born challenger, was aiming to dethrone Haggerty and claim his first ONE Championship world title. The matchup promised to be an explosive encounter. Wei Rui is a former K-1 Kickboxing champion who has been riding a very impressive win streak.
The ONE Bantamweight Kickboxing World Championship was on the line in this ONE 171 bout between Haggerty and Wei Rui. It was a closely matched round 1 as both men had moments, but the southpaw Wei Rui launched a solid uppercut that was making a difference. Combinations from Haggerty in round 2 began building momentum for the British striker who added knees as a counter-offensive. The Chinese-born challenger was looking to attack with kicks on the open side but was often eating a cross when he tried to engage.
An aggressive Jonathan Haggerty in round 3 was looking for a knockout and finding success with his straight from the rear side. Wei was finding moments to counter but began taking several blows throughout exchanges. Knees up close and teep kicks from distance, Wei seemed to be getting visibly frustrated as he struggled to land.
The southpaw Wei was looking to mix punches with open-side kicks as round 4 opened and managed to hit the target repeatedly. But the sharp cross from ‘The General’ proved to be a game-changer as it often found a home. With just seconds remaining, the two fighters began taunting and trash-talking one another while still throwing a battery of punches and kicks. Round 5 was a dominant round for the British striker looking to defend his kickboxing world title.
Jonathan Haggerty, after five rounds of action, earned a unanimous decision victory to defend his ONE Bantamweight Kickboxing World Championship.
