“I must have a rematch” – Shamil Gasanov admits retirement crossed his mind after losing undefeated record to Garry Tonon 

Fourth-ranked ONE featherweight MMA contender Shamil Gasanov certainly expects a lot from himself and has been quite vocal about his lofty goals.

Aside from his dream of becoming an MMA world champion in the world’s largest martial arts organization, ‘The Cobra’ also expressed a desire to follow in the footsteps of fellow Dagestani Khabib Nurmagomedov by retiring undefeated.

While his goal of hoisting 26 pounds of gold is still attainable, retiring with an ‘0’ on his record is no longer on the cards.

After blasting his first 13 opponents in dominant fashion, Gasanov took on his stiffest challenge yet in former featherweight MMA world title challenger Garry Tonon at ONE Fight Night 12 last year.

Despite ‘The Lion Killer’s' feared grappling credentials, the Russian had the utmost confidence in his own ground game and went toe-to-toe with the BJJ specialist in his wheelhouse.

Unfortunately for Gasanov, he got caught in a nasty kneebar in round two, leaving him no choice but to surrender in pain.

In a recent interview with ONE Championship, Gasanov revealed that the loss weighed on him to the point that he no longer wanted to compete.

The Cobra said:

“Yes, on the way home, I thought, ‘That’s it; I’m not going back to fighting again!’ I’d always told myself that if I lost, I would leave the sport.”

But once he got motivated by his loyal fans to get that win back, Gasanov accepted the setback and used it as fuel to reignite his fire. He added:

“Back home, every kid, every schoolboy on the street, came up to me and asked me when I was going to have a rematch with the American. So now, I simply must have a rematch.”

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Shamil Gasanov’s road to redemption begins with Oh Ho Taek

After recuperating from the knee injury he suffered against Tonon, Gasanov is ready to resume his promising career.

The 28-year-old will look to deny Oh Ho ‘Spider’ Taek’s bid to take his place in the top five in the main event of ONE Fight Night 18 this coming Friday, January 12, at Bangkok’s Lumpinee Stadium.

ONE Championship’s first event of the new year will air live during US primetime free of charge for existing Prime Video subscribers in North America.