“I never planned to pull out” – Shamil Gasanov says he was fighting no matter what despite nasty food poisoning scare

Russian fighter Shamil Gasanov had to deal with the effects of food poisoning in his latest fight, but he said there was no way he was pulling out of the match.

‘The Cobra’ dominated South Korean opponent Oh Ho Taek in their headlining featherweight MMA showdown at ONE Fight Night 18 on Prime Video. The event went down on January 12 in Thailand, where the Russian won by unanimous decision.

Gasanov made use of his advantage in grappling to make it hard for Oh to fully soar in their scheduled three-rounder at the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium. That allowed him to pull through with the convincing win.

But while he was at it, Shamil Gasanov said he was not really at 100 percent, dealing with the effects of food poisoning. He pointed out, however, that at no point did he think of pulling out, knowing the significance of the match in his ONE journey.

The 28-year-old Dagestani fighter said:

“No, no. Of course, no. I did not have those thoughts. I never planned to pull out.”

Check out what he had to say below:

The win over Oh swung Gasanov back to the win column after losing in his previous fight back in July. It also solidified his standing as a contender for the world title, which is currently held by Tang Kai of China.

The replay of ONE Fight Night 18: Gasanov vs. Oh on Prime Video is available on demand for those with a Prime Video subscription in North America.

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Shamil Gasanov believes he could have done better in win over Oh Ho Taek

While he wound up with the win at ONE Fight Night 18 on Prime Video last week in Thailand, Shamil Gasanov believes he could have done better in his showdown with South Korean Oh Ho Taek.

The Russian fighter, in particular, said he was angling for a submission victory over ‘Spider’ but just could not pull it off and had to settle for a unanimous decision victory.

Just the same, he was happy to have secured the win, saying:

“It was a pretty difficult fight for me. It didn't go as planned. I was planning to finish him in the first round. I was planning to do the first submission of 2024 but, at the same time, it didn't go well. But still, I won. That's a victory.”

Gasanov had to deal with the effects of food poisoning as he battled Oh but still managed to produce a solid outing to secure the bounce-back win, which took his ONE record to 2-1.