Khabib Nurmagomedov said he is confident that with a win over Shinya Aoki, a fighter from his Eagles MMA team, Russia’s Saigid Izagakhmaev, will be able to fight for gold in the ONE lightweight division as early as 2023.
“If Saygid knocks him out or ends up on the ground, then I think he should fight for the title in the next fight,” Khabib is sure. — There is a very high probability that in the first half of 2023, Saigid will fight for the title. He already has two championship wins and will have a fight ahead of him against a very big global MMA star – Shinya Aoki.
Indeed, both of Izagakhmaev’s fights under the auspices of ONE ended in victory: in the first showdown with Dames Nakashima, he confidently won by choke, and in September he won by decision against the promising Chinese athlete Jang Lipeng (13-11).
“The previous opponent was very good, but from the start I didn’t see how he could surprise Saigid,” Khabib said in an interview for ONE Championship.
New opponent Shinya Aoki (47-10) is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt, a grappling legend and one of the best submission specialists. The 39 year old Japanese has more than 50 fights behind him.
Both athletes feel good on the court, and Khabib is sure that he is a fighter with good wrestling skills who can make Izagakhmaev show all the variety of his striking technique:
– He can work very well in the rack, his elbows and hands work perfectly. He hasn’t had to use his long levers yet, his strike, because so far no one has been able to stop his struggle. But as soon as he has an opponent able to compete with him, he will have to activate his strike. It is then that the public will be surprised. I trained with Saygid all my life. I know how much it progresses each year. I know how focused he is. He is now under 30 and is getting stronger and stronger physically. From fight to fight, he becomes more and more experienced, and soon he will be the best not only of the team, but also of the whole planet. I really believe in him.
The duel between the Russian and the grappling star from Japan is scheduled for November 19 as part of the ONE 163 card.
Source : MatchTV
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