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Saygid Izagakhmaev made a huge statement in his debut at ONE Championship: Heavy Hitters. The talented protege of MMA great Khabib Nurmagomedov submitted a game James Nakashima inside two rounds. The submission also won him a $50,000 performance bonus from ONE Championship.
There has been talk about the Dagestani lightweight being the division's next big thing, and his showing last Friday certainly met and even exceeded expectations. Despite not having Khabib in his corner due to COVID-19 restrictions, Izagakhmaev did exactly what he intended to do.
After a patient first four minutes on the feet, the Eagle MMA standout scored a sneaky double leg takedown. Staying on top for the rest of the first round, he gave Nakashima a taste of that Dagestani wrestling.
Seeing that the American couldn't stop his double leg, Izagakhmaev didn't waste time landing another takedown early in the second round. Nakashima was able to momentarily get up but Izagakhmaev ragdolled him back to the mat. From there, it was vintage Dagestani MMA.
Izagakhmaev's heavy top game and suffocating ground-and-pound opened Nakashima up for a tight head-and-arm choke. The American didn't have much choice but to tap. As far as debuts go, this one was just about perfect.
Watch the full fight highlights here:
ONE Championship lightweight Saygid Izagakhmaev calls out division's elite
After his win at ONE Championship: Heavy Hitters, Saygid Izagakhmaev took the mic and called out two of the most well-known names in his division. Speaking to Mitch Chilson, the fired-up Dagestani fighter had this to say:
"I knew I was going to win when I was entering this ring and I destroyed your former challenger so give me another fight. Eddie, Aoki… I’ll kill you."
Considering how he dismantled a former title contender, it wouldn't be a surprise if Izagakhmaev gets his wishes granted. It would be interesting to see how his flavor of wrestling matches up with either Shinya Aoki's jiu-jitsu mastery or Eddie Alvarez's MMA expertise.
We'll just have to tune in to find out.
