Alibeg Rasulov showed the world that he deserves to be on a bigger stage last weekend, but he believes he can do more.

At ONE Fight Night 23 on Friday, July 6, the undefeated Turkish warrior emerged victorious in his promotional debut, scoring a unanimous decision win over former lightweight MMA king Ok Rae Yoon inside the Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand. 

Alibeg Rasulov remains humble after defeating Ok Rae Yoon

The win extended his professional record to 14-0 and secured his spot among the contenders for Christian “The Warrior” Lee’s ONE Lightweight MMA World Title.

In his post-fight press conference, Rasulov expressed his appreciation for having the opportunity to compete in the world’s largest martial arts organization and discussed what he depended on to prepare for the main event tie.

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“First of all, I want to say thank you. It’s my first time in ONE Championship, and it was such a [good] fight for a first time. I went five rounds. I want to say thank you to ONE Championship,” he said. 

Rasulov continued, “I have experience. I fought more people in the past. I had a lot of fights before. So yeah, I was just getting ready. I wasn’t too worried, and I will stay in this weight division.”

The 31-year-old debutant controlled much of the bout but had to put down a challenge from Ok toward the end of the five rounds. Nonetheless, the win was comfortably handed to him in the end.

Though happy with the victory, Rasulov was quick to give credit to his opponent and critique his performance after the fight, asserting that he still has plenty more to showcase to ONE’s global fanbase.  

“It was a pretty difficult fight. I’m really happy to have won and my opponent, he was strong, but still I won. But I just can say that I can do much better,” Rasulov said.

ONE debutant promises to be better

The win could have netted the Hyperion Fighters powerhouse the ONE Interim Lightweight MMA World Championship, as the bout was originally set to be a contest for it until he failed to pass ONE’s hydration tests on time. 

Discussing the matter, Rasulov explained that he found it tricky to navigate the unique pre-fight rules ahead of ONE 168, but he promised to be on top of it moving forward. 

“It’s my first time competing in ONE Championship. It’s a bit new for me, with hydration testing too. So that’s why I had to cut weight twice. That’s why I’m saying I could do much better. But at the same time, it’s a good experience. I will do much better in the future,” he said.