Undefeated phenom Alibeg Rasulov has been handed a career-defining opportunity on his ONE Championship debut – and is ready to grasp it with both hands.
\nThe 31-year-old has built up a fearsome reputation on the circuits of Asia and Europe, crafting a perfect 14-0 record with 10 finishes.
\nHeavy with his hands, but also adept on the ground – as his four submission wins suggest – Rasulov was already delighted to have been signed to ONE in the lightweight MMA division, but with current champion Christian Lee side-lined the Dagestan-born Turkish fighter will now open his career with an interim title fight.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0
\nThe man standing in his way of that gold is South Korea\u2019s Ok Rae Yoon. The former lightweight champion needs little in the way of introduction and holds an enviable list of victims – including current champion Lee. Add to that the likes of Eddie Alvarez and Marat Gafurov and it is easy to see why he is held in such high esteem.\u00a0
\nFor Rasulov however, this is all a question of timing, and see this as an opportunity to usher in a new era for the lightweight division.
\n\u201cHe is a former champion, a good fighter, and he has beaten many high-level fighters,\u201d he said. \u201cI was dreaming about such an opponent, so I was very happy when I received his name. I believe it\u2019s my time and I will pass him.
\n\u00a0\u201cI\u2019m very excited about it and happy to be given such an opportunity. I feel no pressure at all. It\u2019s a good chance for me.\u00a0\u00a0
\n\u201cMy goal in ONE Championship is to become a dominant champion. This win is very important for me. I will be ready.\u201d
\nHailing originally from Dagestan, it goes without saying that Rasulov has been raised on a diet of wrestling, and he is confident that element of his game can prove decisive when the pair meet at ONE Fight Night 23 in the early hours of Saturday, July 6 AST.\u00a0
\n\u201cHis advantage is his stand-up,\u201d said Rasulov. \u201cHe mostly fights standing and doesn\u2019t allow you to take him down. He is a good defensive wrestler.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s going to be an interesting fight. He fights standing up, while I mostly wrestle. The one who forces his game will win, but I\u2019m still confident in myself.\u00a0\u00a0
\n\u201cHe fought Marat Gafurov, my countryman, and I saw that Dagestani wrestling was stronger.\u00a0
\n\u201cIf I don\u2019t succeed in wrestling, I will fight standing, but I can fight on the ground as well. I\u2019m going to force my tempo on him.\u201d
\nAs for Rasulov\u2019s longer-term motivation, it is simple – to dominate the lightweight division.
\n\u201cThis organization is the best in the world. It gives athletes motivation to be stronger. I\u2019m very happy to compete there and become a champion.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Undefeated phenom Alibeg Rasulov has been handed a career-defining opportunity on his ONE Championship debut \u2013 and is ready to grasp it with both hands.
\nThe 31-year-old has built up a fearsome reputation on the circuits of Asia and Europe, crafting a perfect 14-0 record with 10 finishes.
\nHeavy with his hands, but also adept on the ground \u2013 as his four submission wins suggest \u2013 Rasulov was already delighted to have been signed to ONE in the lightweight MMA division, but with current champion Christian Lee side-lined the Dagestan-born Turkish fighter will now open his career with an interim title fight.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0
\nThe man standing in his way of that gold is South Korea\u2019s Ok Rae Yoon. The former lightweight champion needs little in the way of introduction and holds an enviable list of victims \u2013 including current champion Lee. Add to that the likes of Eddie Alvarez and Marat Gafurov and it is easy to see why he is held in such high esteem.\u00a0
\nFor Rasulov however, this is all a question of timing, and see this as an opportunity to usher in a new era for the lightweight division.
\n\u201cHe is a former champion, a good fighter, and he has beaten many high-level fighters,\u201d he said. \u201cI was dreaming about such an opponent, so I was very happy when I received his name. I believe it\u2019s my time and I will pass him.
\n\u00a0\u201cI\u2019m very excited about it and happy to be given such an opportunity. I feel no pressure at all. It\u2019s a good chance for me.\u00a0\u00a0
\n\u201cMy goal in ONE Championship is to become a dominant champion. This win is very important for me. I will be ready.\u201d
\nHailing originally from Dagestan, it goes without saying that Rasulov has been raised on a diet of wrestling, and he is confident that element of his game can prove decisive when the pair meet at ONE Fight Night 23 in the early hours of Saturday, July 6 AST.\u00a0
\n\u201cHis advantage is his stand-up,\u201d said Rasulov. \u201cHe mostly fights standing and doesn\u2019t allow you to take him down. He is a good defensive wrestler.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s going to be an interesting fight. He fights standing up, while I mostly wrestle. The one who forces his game will win, but I\u2019m still confident in myself.\u00a0\u00a0
\n\u201cHe fought Marat Gafurov, my countryman, and I saw that Dagestani wrestling was stronger.\u00a0
\n\u201cIf I don\u2019t succeed in wrestling, I will fight standing, but I can fight on the ground as well. I\u2019m going to force my tempo on him.\u201d
\nAs for Rasulov\u2019s longer-term motivation, it is simple \u2013 to dominate the lightweight division.
\n\u201cThis organization is the best in the world. It gives athletes motivation to be stronger. I\u2019m very happy to compete there and become a champion.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"image","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/406600"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=406600"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/406600\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":406601,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/406600\/revisions\/406601"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=406600"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=406600"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=406600"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}