Jonathan Haggerty is set to defend his ONE Bantamweight Kickboxing world championship against Chinese veteran Wei Rui in the main event at ONE 171: Qatar, ONE Championship has announced.
The 27-year-old British star will defend the title for the first time inside the Lusail Sports Arena in Qatar.
Haggerty had won the belt by knocking out the previously undefeated ONE Bantamweight MMA world champion Fabricio Andrade in November last year.
Haggerty, who owns an overall Muay Thai and Kickboxing record of 22-5, hopes to bounce back from his first loss in seven bouts as he most recently lost his ONE Bantamweight Muay Thai world title to Thai megastar Superlek Kiatmoo.
But Haggerty faces a difficult test against experienced Chinese fighter Wei Rui. The former K-1 champion is widely considered China’s best kickboxing star and owns an impressive 70-3 professional record.
The Chinese veteran opened his account at ONE Championship with a unanimous decision win against Japanese counterpart Hiroki Akimoto in May.
In another world title matchup, Joshua Pacio returns to defend his ONE Strawweight MMA world championship against Jarred Brooks in a rematch of their ONE 166: Qatar world title bout.
Pacio picked up the win – and the world title – in the first bout after Brooks was disqualified for an illegal spike.
With its partners Visit Qatar and Media City Qatar, ONE Championship will make its return to Lusail Sports Arena on Thursday, 20 February for ONE 171: Qatar.
