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Welcome to today's edition of the daily Sportskeeda ONE Championship News Roundup, where we present the promotion's most important stories.
Today we discuss Saygid Izagakhmaev’s rise in the lightweight rankings, Roberto Soldic’s aggressive approach in his ONE Championship debut against Murad Ramazanov, and Reinier de Ridder’s game plan for his world title defense against Anatoly Malykhin.
#3. Saygid Izagakhmaev overtakes Halil Amir with dominant TKO win over Shinya Aoki
Saygid Izagakhmaev’s dominant win over Shinya Aoki has officially pushed him closer to that coveted world title fight against Christian Lee.
The Russian star obliterated Aoki in the first round of their match at ONE 163, and the knockout win saw Izagakhmaev climb to the third spot in the lightweight rankings. The idle Halil Amir, who was previously the No.3-ranked lightweight contender, was bumped down to the fourth spot.
Only No.2-ranked Dagi Arslanaliev and the former world champion Ok Rae Yoon are ahead of Izagakhmaev in ONE Championship's lightweight rankings. Lee, who holds the ONE lightweight and welterweight world titles, has said in a previous interview with South China Morning Post that Izagakhmaev could challenge for the 170-pound world championship if he beats Aoki.
“I think the match between Saygid and Shinya is going to be an important fight. I think if Saygid is able to win that match, I think he’s next in line for the world title.”
#2. “An explosion for three rounds” – Roberto Soldic will use his strength and force against Murad Ramazanov in ONE Championship debut
Roberto Soldic is a week away from his ONE Championship debut, and he’s already set out a plan against Murad Ramazanov.
The Croatian sensation will face Ramazanov in a welterweight bout at ONE on Prime Video 5 on December 2, Friday, at the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila. Soldic’s ONE Championship debut, and the rest of the card, will be available for free to Prime Video subscribers in North America.
The fight between Soldic and Ramazanov has garnered noticeable hype, and the former two-division KSW champion feels he’ll be a problem against the undefeated Russian fighter.
In an interview with The MMA Superfan, Soldic said he’ll display an explosion of power that would put Ramazanov on the back foot:
“Yeah, for two to three rounds, no problem. I like this fight for five rounds. You know, because three rounds mean it’s strong. I can see but with five rounds, it's something different. I'm ready for this, like an explosion for three rounds. A lot of power. We will be ready.”
#1. “The only thing I want is to destroy this guy” - Reinier de Ridder looking to punish Anatoly Malykhin
Two-division world champion Reinier de Ridder has one goal in his world title defense against Anatoly Malykhin and that is to inflict a world of hurt.
De Ridder will defend his ONE light heavyweight world title against Malykhin, the ONE interim heavyweight world champion, in the main event of ONE on Prime Video 5.
In an interview with the South China Morning Post, de Ridder said that he doesn’t mind that his fight against Malykhin is happening at light heavyweight. All he wants is to put on a show and batter the Russian star:
“This is the fight right now. I’m fully focused on this one. The only thing I want is to destroy this guy. He’s the next guy to deserve it. And when I do, I would be very content with that. It would feel the same if it’s at heavyweight or light heavyweight. It’s just a guy in front of me,” said de Ridder, who also holds the ONE middleweight world championship.
De Ridder is arguably the best pound-for-pound fighter in ONE Championship, but his fight against Malykhin might be his most difficult one yet. Nevertheless, ‘The Dutch Knight’ is ready to welcome any challengers in ONE Championship, and it just so happens that the next one is a fellow world champion.
