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The unbeaten Shamil Gasanov is following in the footsteps of fellow Russian stars by joining and prospering under the ONE Championship banner.
'The Cobra' faces a stiff test in just his second ONE bout, taking on former featherweight champ Martin Nguyen at ONE Fight Night 7 on Prime Video.
Shamil Gasanov reflected on dreaming about competing on the global stage when he was younger, telling the promotion:
"When I was younger, I heard about this league and dreamed of joining ONE. I remember watching the fight between Timofey Nastyukhin and Saygid Dagi Arslanaliev. From that fight on, I began following ONE more than any other promotion. I got convinced after I had seen Marat Gafurov’s and Vitaly Bigdash’s [world title] belts."
The rising star needed less than a round to score a victory in his ONE debut, sinking in a rear-naked choke on South Korea's Kim Jae Woong.
Watch Shamil Gasanov's statement-making ONE debut finish below:
Shamil Gasanov hopes to bring the first world title home to his village
Gasanov grew up in a Dagestani village, one that doesn't possess a world champion yet. The 27-year-old plans to be the one to bring a title home to his village.
He told ONE:
"We had no athletes in the village who had reached high levels of achievement. We had no world champions, but in other neighboring villages of Dagestan, they had. And I had this idea in my head that we also need a champion. Are we worse than they are?"
The No. 5-ranked featherweight will take a giant step towards achieving that goal if he's able to beat Martin Nguyen at ONE Fight Night 7.
Gasanov is a perfect 13-0 as a pro, with all 11 of his finishes coming in the very first round. He is considered to be one of the top prospects coming out of Russia.
Make sure to check out ONE Fight Night 7 on February 24 to watch Shamil Gasanov take on former champ Martin Nguyen, live from the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
All the action will be broadcast live and for free on Prime Video for all Amazon subscribers across North America.
