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Recent debutant Shamil Gasanov made waves with his opening-round submission of featherweight contender Kim Jae Woong at ONE on Prime Video 3. Afterward, he set his eyes on the division's other top contenders, like Garry Tonon.
Following the recent rankings update, Gasanov finds himself at No.5 in the star-studded featherweight division. Aside from the champion Tang Kai, he only trails Thanh Le, Tonon, Ilya Freymanov, and Martin Nguyen.
'The Cobra' believes he's doing Tonon a favor by calling him out. He told ONE:
"He should be grateful people are talking about him now, he should thank me. ONE has put him on the shelf, forgot about him already. If he wants to come back, I will help him to retire."
Tonon, who has only competed in two MMA bouts since 2020, is currently ranked No.2 at featherweight. A fight with either Gasanov or Freymanov would give the 31-year-old a chance to beat one of the new dogs in the yard.
However, Gasanov isn't just any ordinary dog – he's a pitbull. The evidence can be seen in his debut where he throttled Woong in a matter of minutes.
Shamil Gasanov eyeing another top contender
The rising Russian star has a well-rounded game with a freestyle wrestling background. After his submission victory at ONE on Prime Video 3, Gasanov channeled his inner Khamzat Chimaev and called out everyone:
“Everybody smash! Everywhere! Just give me five minutes. That’s all I need.”
The undefeated featherweight entered ONE with a 12-0 record, which included an 83% finish rate. He capped off his run by securing the ProFC featherweight title. He is now eyeing a world title under the ONE Championship banner.
Also of note, Gasanov is a two-time European Grappling Champion and World Grappling Champion. His grappling prowess clearly carried over to the ONE circle. Admittedly, a matchup between Shamil Gasanov and Garry Tonon would be a fascinating encounter.
Be on the lookout for an announcement regarding Gasanov's next fight, as it promises to be a top-contender bout in the featherweight division.
Check out Shamil Gasanov on the mic after his ONE on Prime Video 3 win below:
