Liam Harrison gave ONE Championship fans one of the most memorable Muay Thai matches in history against Muangthai PK Saenchai in 2022, and his performance earned him a World Title shot later that year. Unfortunately for the British striking icon, it was downhill from there.
Harrison suffered a devastating knee injury whe he challenged Thai veteran Nong-O Hama for the ONE bantamweight Muay Thai championship, putting him on the sideline for nearly two years.
Now, “Hitman” is on the verge of his return to action. The 38-year-old brawler will take on Katsuki Kitano at ONE 167 on Friday, Jun. 7, and he reflected on the unpredictability of the fight game in a recent interview with ONE.
“This sport is the highest of the highs and the lowest of the lows. I say this all the time. The fight before [the injury against Nong-O], I fought Muangthai. I knocked him out in the first round, it got voted Fight of the Year, five knockdowns in the space of 90 seconds. I got a $100,000 bonus from that fight,” Harrison said.
“Then the next fight I leave on a stretcher and get put in the back of an ambulance. So what can you do? You’ve got to suck it up and be able to come back strong. And that’s what I’m doing.”
Perhaps the most trying part of the Bad Company star’s rehab was the impact it had on him mentally.
Harrison had to endure more than a few setbacks on his road back to form, and he praised his support system for helping him get through the difficult months.
“It was very hard mentally to come back from this, especially as an older athlete. I had to push the boundaries of my mental strength. Luckily, I had a great rehab team behind me and great support from my family and friends,” he mentioned.
But in true warrior spirit, “Hitman” never stopped working to improve. While building himself back up, he changed how he trained so that he could be even more dangerous.
Ahead of his return at ONE 167, Harrison is feeling at the top of his game.
“When I was injured and out for the injury, all I worked on was explosive movements and things like that. So I changed my training, changed up a lot, and I feel like I’ve come back stronger than I was before,” he stated.
More than anything else, Harrison is having fun again. Whether he wins or loses is almost secondary to the passion that has been reignited while reparing for his return to the Circle.
Always the entertainer is fully healthy, the Brit is ready to put on a show for the fans at ONE 167.
“Now I’m back to training like I was before. Getting lots of hard, hard sparring rounds in because, obviously while I’ve been out with injury, that’s what I missed. So I’m getting all that locked in now. I’m sparring with some real heavy hitters, some real sharp guys, and I’m just enjoying it,” Harrison said.
“I was in pain all the time. The main thing is now I’m not. And I’m enjoying it again. So it’s going to be good to be back.”
ONE 167 airs live and free on Prime Video to all Amazon Prime subscribers in the U.S. and Canada on Friday, June 7, at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.