“I’ll smash you” - Saygid Izagakhmaev with shades of mentor Khabib Nurmagomedov at ONE on Prime Video 2

It’s no secret that Saygid Izagakhmaev’s grueling fighting style is heavily influenced by his mentor, Khabib Nurmagomedov. But it appears like that's not the only thing he has in common with the former UFC lightweight champion.

Turns out, Izagakhmaev also has a penchant for talking smack to his opponent while he’s bringing in the pain mid-fight. This became evident during the 28-year-old Dagestani’s three-round war with Zhang Lipeng at ONE 161: Petchmorakot vs Tawanchi last week.

Saygid Izagakhmaev practically mauled the Chinese fighter as he took him down at will and blasted him with punishing ground-and-pound for 15 minutes.

Apparently, just raining down hard shots isn’t enough for the Academy MMA product. He also wanted to offer some live commentary as he was bashing his opponent’s skull.

Izagakhmaev put on his best Khabib impression, smashing Zhang and proclaimed that he’ll be the next world champion in the lightweight ranks.

"I'll smash you. I'm the next champion."

Cameras caught the one-sided interaction, which you can see below:

It looks like elite wrestling is not the only thing they teach in Nurmagomedov’s stable. ‘The Eagle’, of course, became known for mouthing off on his opponents while roughing them up on his way to becoming an MMA world champion.

It’s clear as day that Saygid Izagakhmaev wants to follow the same blueprint, and he’s doing a great job so far. The No.5-ranked lightweight is on a four-fight winning streak, with the last two taking place inside the circle.

The dominant win over veteran Zhang certainly puts Saygid Izagakhmaev closer to a possible world title opportunity against divisional king Christian Lee.

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Chatri Sityodtong believes Saygid Izagakhmaev matches well with Christian Lee

Even ONE Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong was left in awe of the Dagestani’s incredible outing at ONE 161.

While Sityodtong argued that Izagakhmaev is still a few fights away from challenging Lee, he knows these two terrific 170-pound fighters are bound to go at it somewhere down the line.

He said during the ONE 161 post-fight interview:

“I think if they ever meet, it’s going to be an incredible all-out war for the fans, right? So yeah, I mean, let's see how everything unfolds. I'm excited about the potential. I do believe they'll probably end up meeting. I just don't see how they don't. But there are still a few more fights we got to make.”

As it stands, it appears that Saygid Izagakhmaev might just be the best wrestler, not only in the lightweight division, but in the whole promotion.

He loves to bring his opponents into deep waters and overwhelm them with that trademark Dagestani pressure.

Lee, on the other hand, has proven to be a dangerous opponent wherever the fight goes. ‘The Warrior’ has 11 career wins by knockout and four by submission.

Sityodtong is right. It’s going to be one hell of a ride when these two finally meet in the circle.