Alibeg Rasulov is ready to showcase his talents on ONE Championship’s global stage for the first time this weekend, and he intends to go toe-to-toe with his elite opponent.
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This Friday, July 5, the Turkey-based Russian sensation will face former divisional king Ok Rae Yoon for the ONE Interim Lightweight MMA World Championship in the main event of ONE Fight Night 23 inside the iconic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
Alibeg Rasulov confident in his wrestling against South Korean rival
Rasulov dominated the Turkish and Russian circuits to amass a pristine 13-0 professional record, but he knows the competition in ONE will be a step up. As such, he’s been studying his South Korean rival, and he discussed what he has planned in a recent interview with the promotion.
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“It’s going to be an interesting fight. He fights standing up, while I mostly wrestle. The one who forces his game will win, but I’m still confident in myself,” Rasulov said. “He fought Marat Gafurov, my countryman, and I saw that Dagestani wrestling was stronger.
He further added, “If I don’t succeed in wrestling, I will fight standing, but I can fight on the ground as well. I’m going to force my tempo on him.” Through five fights in the world’s largest martial arts organization, Ok has shown incredible skill on his feet and excellent defensive prowess when avoiding takedowns or when he’s forced to grapple.
Ok Rae Yoon looks to reclaim glory in ONE Championship
The 33-year-old has found success against the likes of Gafurov, American veteran Eddie “The Underground King” Alvarez, and even Christian “The Warrior” Lee, who he defeated to claim the lightweight MMA crown in 2021.
Though he failed to defend it against Lee a year later, Ok came back strong when he bested American star Lowen Tynanes at ONE Fight Night 10 last May. All four of the Team MAD athlete’s wins have come via hard-fought battles that all went to the judges’ scorecards, so Rasulov will be aware that their tussle for the ONE Interim Lightweight MMA World Title this weekend can go into deep waters.
However, if he prepares his best weaponry and enters Lumpinee with his stamina at an all-time high, the unbeaten star could announce himself in just the right way and grab gold at the same time. Whoever leaves victorious, ONE’s lightweight MMA division will have a World Title unification bout on the horizon at the end of this weekend’s thrilling show.
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Edited by
Yeswanth Praveen