Abdulla Dayakaev has made it crystal clear that he will never face teammate Nabil Anane inside the Circle, despite him pushing himself into prime position as a possible contender to the ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world title.
The 23-year-old Dagestani warrior delivered the fastest knockout in the promotion's Muay Thai division history at ONE Fight Night 33 last Friday, needing just 24 seconds to demolish Nontachai Jitmuangnon during his featherweight debut with a devastating left hook inside Bangkok's legendary Lumpinee Stadium.
"Yes. Yes. I wait. I wait. I will never fight with him [Nabil]. He's my brother. We train together, spar together, help each other together, and support each other together. I'll not fight with him," Abdulla Dayakaev told reporter Nick Atkin.
"I'll wait for him to go up, and then I'll come for the belt."
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Watch his full interview here:
Dayakaev previously competed in the bantamweight Muay Thai division, a bracket ruled by none other than the young Thai-Algerian firecracker. However, he does not plan on burning bridges with one of his closest pals.
After all, the Team Mehdi Zatout athletes' bond runs deeper than professional ambition, with both fighters committed to supporting each other's championship pursuits rather than creating conflict within their camp.
Perhaps, Dayakaev can make a run at featherweight for now. But once Anane possibly makes the move up to featherweight, he seems dead set on pursuing the bantamweight crown.
Missed his highlight-reel finish last week? The full ONE Fight Night 33 card is streaming on-demand via Amazon Prime Video for viewers in the United States and Canada.
Abdulla Dayakaev's one-punch KO power is a thing of beauty
Plenty of fighters can score that occasional lightning-quick knockout. Not many can keep that up, though.
Abdulla Dayakaev, however, has proven to be a warrior loaded with surgical precision and match-ending power several times.
The Russian's knockout wins over Sevket Cerkez, Ongbak Fairtex, Sibmuen, Alessio Malatesta, Saemapetch Fairtex, and Nontachai serve as clear evidence of the venom in his fists.
Thus far, he has lit up almost every contender standing across from him on the global stage, and fans shouldn't be too surprised if he can stick up to his promise of bagging a 10-second finish in his next outing.