This week, the ONE Championship league will hold two tournaments – ONE 163 and ONE Fight Night 4. Four representatives from Russia will perform in the indoor stadium in Singapore.
One of the biggest leagues in the world – ONE Championship will hold two tournaments on November 18 and 19, where 42 athletes from 19 countries will compete. The program includes four bouts for world gold, bouts in MMA, Muay Thai, kickboxing and submission grappling.
ONE 163 – Saygid Izagakhmaev
Japanese submission master and world grappling star Shinya Aoki (47-10) will face Saigid Izagakhmaev (21-2), who Khabib Nurmagomedov says has every chance of becoming the new ONE lightweight champion. In an interview with ONE, 28-year-old Izagakhmaev said he was ready to retire Aoki. He challenged the 39-year-old legend after winning the ONE 161 tournament in September. Recently, Izagakhmaev sent a video message to his opponent, in which he expressed his respect, but at the same time left no doubt about the outcome of their fight:
“I’m happy to fight Shinya Aoki. Aoki is a legend in our sport. Even when I was in school, I watched his fights. But with all due respect, I’m going to take it down.
Both fights held under the auspices of ONE ended in a confident victory for the Russian. He plays for the Eagles MMA team and according to Khabib Nurmagomedov is the strongest lightweight on the team.
“If Saygid knocks him out or ends up on the floor then I think he should fight for the title next,” Khabib commented. — There is a very high probability that in the first half of 2023, Saigid will fight for the title.
Current ONE interim heavyweight champion Anatoly Malykhin agrees with Nurmagomedov’s opinion:
— I am currently training with Saygid. He will be rewarded for his work. Saygid is one of those who love their job. He’s in the gym every day, he’s motivated. I’m glad to have such a friend. I think in 2023 we will have a new champion, and it will be Saigid.
ONE Fight Night 4: Kamran Abbasov, Vladimir Kuzmin, Maria Molchanova
In the main battle of the tournament on November 18, two champions will face off – Kamran Abbasov (23-5), who holds the welterweight division belt, and lightweight champion Christian Lee (16-4). MMA connoisseurs are weighing how easy it will be for Lee to adjust to a heavier weight class and whether the 24-year-old can become the youngest double belt holder in ONE history.
Abbasov himself tried to move up to a higher weight class, but was defeated: in February, he tried to take the belt from ONE middleweight champion Reiner de Ridder (16-0). In December, Anatoly Malykhin will drop down one division in an attempt to enter the Champions League top flight by two divisions in the Battle of Champions. Feeling confident on the pitch, Abbasov, who has exceptional skills in Greco-Roman wrestling, is confident in his abilities against virtuoso striker Lee:
– I’m not limited to wrestling – if Christian wants to trade blows, then please. That’s what we like. And if you want to fight, you can swim deep – let’s see who has how much oxygen.
In the preliminary card, British Muay Thai fighter Jonathan Haggerty will move up to bantamweight to take on Russian Vladimir Kuzmin. Haggerty is a former ONE champion and number one flyweight contender, but can he beat Kuzmin in his new weight class?
“He’s a fast and versatile fighter, very technical. I think he underestimates me and that’s his biggest mistake. He was a champion at a different weight and thinks he’s dangerous at that weight as well, but that’s not the case, Kuzmin believes. – It would be ideal to knock him out in the first or second round, maybe it will happen, but I am preparing for a full fight.
Russia’s Maria Molchanova will make her ONE debut against American atomic-weight Daniella Kelly in submission grappling.
The 34-year-old Russian is one of the latest additions to the ever-growing ONE Championship roster. Molchanova has won eight Russian SAMBO Championships, the first of them in 2010. Maria is a four-time European and World Sambo Champion.
Source : MatchTV
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