“New champion soon” - Saygid Izagakhmaev creeping close to world title shot following latest win

Russian MMA fighter Saygid Izagakhmaev is looking for gold in ONE Championship. The lightweight has entered the top five rankings with his most recent win.

Izagakhmaev is a Dagestani-born fighter who trains under the tutelage of the legendary Khabib Nurmagomedov. At ONE 161, he put his powerful wrestling skills on display when he earned a decision victory against China's Zhang Lipeng, making him a perfect 2-0 in ONE.

On Instagram, Izagakhmaev made a declaration that the illustrious ONE lightweight world championship will eventually be his. He shared [Russian to English translation courtesy of Google Translate]:

"Everything goes to the fact that soon I will become the new champion. [Все идёт к тому что скоро я стану новым чемпионом.]"

Standing in his way is the reigning lightweight king 'The Warrior' Christian Lee. Lee first won the world title in 2019 when he defeated Shinya Aoki. He has since become a two-time champion.

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Saygid Izagakhmaev and Christian Lee

The lightweight king Christian Lee is well aware of the threat from Saygid Izagakhmaev and has kept a close eye on him. The United MMA-trained champion discussed the Khabib Nurmagomedov-trained fighter in an interview with ONE.

On Saygid Izagakhmaev, Christian Lee said:

"I think Saygid brings a special skill set to the division. I think it’s going to take someone special to really stop his run, and I see him working his way up to a title shot real soon.”

While speaking to SCMP MMA, the world champion said that the Russian athlete needs to put together a few more wins before challenging for the throne:

"Saygid, he’s the only guy I haven’t fought yet but he’s only got one fight in ONE Championship so far. He’s got a good record outside of ONE but I’d like to see him put together a few good wins especially against guys in the rankings, in the top five, before he gets a title shot."

'The Warrior' Christian Lee has just reclaimed his lightweight crown. The Singaporean-American fighter lost his prestigious world title to South Korea's Ok Rae Yoon. Lee took back what he felt was rightfully his with a vengeance. At ONE 160 he stopped Ok with a second-round TKO.

See Christian Lee's interview with SCMP MMA below: