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With one of the best performances of the night at ONE Fight Night 18, Artem Belakh laid down a serious marker of intent in American primetime last Friday, January 12.
The bantamweight MMA contender bounced back from his latest setback inside the Circle to stop the win streak of Enkh-Orgil Baatarkhuu in devastating fashion.
A perfectly placed knee strike followed up by some ruthless elbow strikes closed the show in style in the second round.
Artem Belakh is now targeting what’s next for him as he hopes to continue moving up the bantamweight rankings by taking out one of the top contenders that are ahead of him in the rankings.
Having already faced and been defeated by Kwon Won Il, that leaves Stephen Loman and former champion John Lineker as his two clear options for big fights next time out.
He told the South China Morning Post that either competitor is his preference but ultimately something that will move him close to a title shot is his one true goal:
“It doesn't matter [which big names I want to fight]. Now I'm already in the top five rankings, but anybody who is above me, I'm ready for a fight. Stephen Loman, John Lineker, doesn’t matter. I need a big fight with a big name.”
Watch the full interview below:
Artem Belakh could find himself in the mix very quickly at bantamweight
With three bantamweight MMA contests on the organization’s first Fight Night event of 2024, it was a big night for the likes of Artem Belakh.
The Russian, the division’s fourth-ranked contender, produced the best highlight of the three and will undoubtedly have secured the big fight that he wants off the strength of his performance.
Given their positions in the rankings, a win over Loman and Lineker could be all that he needs to stake his claim as the number one contender.
This will be especially true if the only man to beat him inside the Circle, Kwon Won Il, gets his title shot next time out which frees Belakh up to target the belt in the second half of the year.
North American viewers with an active Prime Video subscription can rewatch all the action from ONE Fight Night 18 via the free event replay.
