Former ONE Lightweight MMA World Champion Ok Rae Yoon is gearing up for a huge battle this weekend, and he has a pretty good idea of how it’s going to go down.

This Friday, July 5, on U.S. primetime, the South Korean slugger will have a shot to reclaim gold in the main event of ONE Fight Night 23 when he takes on undefeated newcomer Alibeg Rasulov for the ONE Interim Lightweight MMA World Title inside the iconic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.

Ok Rae Yoon’s journey through ONE Championship

Ok’s ONE resume is a who’s-who list of superstars. His first two bouts in the promotion came just a week apart in April 2021 and featured former ONE Featherweight MMA World Champion Marat “The Cobra” Gafurov and legend of the sport Eddie “The Underground King” Alvarez as his respective opponents – both of whom he defeated.

He then pulled off a massive upset by taking the ONE Lightweight MMA World Title from Christian “The Warrior” Lee five months later at ONE: REVOLUTION. While he lost the belt in their rematch almost a year later at ONE 160, the Busan native rebounded quickly with an impressive victory over Lowen Tynanes at ONE Fight Night 10 in May 2023 to show he still had the goods.

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With his experience against such elite competition, Ok believes he knows what to expect against a fighter with the caliber of Rasulov, and he laid out his thoughts in an interview with ONE.

“I think we are both going to do what we are good at. Alibeg is going to bring his Dagestani wrestling to try and take me down. I’m going to do my best to not get taken down and hit him with good shots,” he said.

Rasulov faces a tough challenge in ONE Championship debut against veteran Ok

Though ONE Fight Night 23 will be Rasulov’s debut in ONE Championship, he has remained undefeated in 14 professional fights. He further added, “ONE allows for knees on the ground. So, if he comes in for the takedown, I’ll make sure he pays for it with my knees. Then I’ll hit him with my shots and get the KO.”

The Turkish powerhouse dominated the regional scene in his homeland and Russia, and he’ll be looking to add to his momentum by winning gold on his arrival to the world’s largest martial arts organization.

However, that will be much easier said than done against Ok. The Team MAD standout is vastly more familiar with ONE’s rule set, and he’s held gold once before. So, Rasulov’s perfect professional slate could be canceled out by his foe’s fight IQ and comfort with competing in main event battles.