The event, which takes place at the Lusail Sports Arena on February 20, 2025, will see ONE bantamweight kickboxing world champion Jonathan Haggerty put his title on the line against Chinese contender Wei Rui.
England’s Haggerty has consistently been one of the best, most exciting strikers in the world having captured multiple world titles under the ONE Championship banner.
The 27-year-old is a former ONE flyweight champion in both kickboxing and Muay Thai, and is also a former ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world champ. Currently the kickboxing world champion at bantamweight, he’ll put his title on the line against China’s Wei Rui, who heads into his title challenge riding a 21-fight win streak that stretches back to 2018.
Rui signed with ONE back in March 2024 and defeated former ONE bantamweight kickboxing champion Hiroki Akimoto on his promotional debut to make an immediate impact in the division and put himself in line for a shot at the title.
He’ll face Haggerty in Qatar on February 20 in a bid to complete meteoric rise to the top of ONE Championship’s striking ranks.
Jarred Brooks eyes redemption, and his old title, at ONE 171: Qatar
Also set for world championship action on the night is ONE strawweight MMA world champion Joshua Pacio. The Filipino star, known to his fans as “The Passion,” will take on interim champion Jarred Brooks in a trilogy bout that continues their rivalry in ONE Championship.
The first fight between the pair saw Brooks claim a unanimous decision victory over Pacio at ONE 164 in December 2022 as the American captured the ONE strawweight title.
In their rematch at ONE 166, a slam KO delivered by Brooks appeared to give him back-to-back victories over Pacio. But the slam was correctly ruled to be an illegal spike, and Brooks was disqualified. It meant “The Monkey God” not only lost the fight, he also lost his title as Pacio departed their Qatar rematch as the champion.
Since then, Brooks submitted Gustavo Balart to win the interim strawweight title, and while a move up to bantamweight resulted in a loss to longtime contender Reece McLaren, his competitiveness in a split-decision loss proved that he remains at the top of his game.
Now he takes on Pacio for a third time looking to correct the mistakes of their second fight and unify the strawweight titles once again.
“ONE 171: Qatar is already shaping up to be one of the biggest spectacles of the year,” said ONE chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong.
“Jonathan Haggerty is a certified superstar, but he is set to face one of his toughest tests yet in Chinese icon Wei Rui.
“I also can’t wait to see the third fight between Joshua Pacio and Jarred Brooks to determine who will reign supreme as the undisputed ONE strawweight MMA world champion.
“I would like to personally thank Visit Qatar and Media City Qatar for making this historic event possible. See you all in Qatar!”
