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Top lightweight contender Saygid Guseyn Arslanaliev plans to put on a show at ONE: ENTER THE DRAGON this 17 May at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. He goes up against Amir Khan in the semi-final round of the highly-publicized ONE Lightweight World Grand Prix.
The 24-year-old Turkish warrior was originally scheduled to face Ariel “Tarzan” Sexton but due to an injury to the latter, Khan was tapped to take his place.
Though Khan has had more experience in the ONE Circle than Arslanaliev, the Turkish lightweight brings in quite a rumble on the battlefield, as he has featured exciting finishes throughout his career thus far.
And he’s not shy about his unbelievable finishing ability.
“I am young, strong and supercharged to win – that’s my character,” says Arslanaliev
“Also, my upbringing in the mountains of the Caucasus played the part – we all get shaped by our environment, and where I come from you have to be able to fight and stand up for yourself. I‘ve never planned to become a KO artist, it came as a surprise to me. I am not complaining – why get hit in the head if I can avoid it?
“My health is more important than fighting, to be honest. I do want to have a long fight just to give the audience a show, but obviously, if the opportunity for a KO is going to be there, I will use it.”
Arslanaliev has finished all of his opponents so far, and is coming off a remarkable 25-second knockout of Ev Ting in the quarter-final round.
But Arslanaliev says he has a much smarter approach to training now, and is tailor-making all of his camps in regards to the opponent he is set to face.
“Yes, I will tailor my training now, because each opponent is different,” Arslanaliev explain
“However, both Sexton and Khan are tall and muscular guys – slightly bigger than me, but that is not a problem – so, training for Khan will be similar in that regard.”
That being said, Arslanaliev cannot wait to put on a show for fans at the Singapore Indoor Stadium, and he is laser focused ahead of the ONE Lightweight World Grand Prix semi-finals.
“I can’t control things during the fight – my reactions are automatic. I will use any opportunity, and that means my plan might change,” Arslanaliev concluded.
