ALIBEG Rasulov believes he’s going to keep his unbeaten MMA record intact and walk out of Lumpinee Stadium with ONE Championship gold hoisted over his shoulders.
Rasulov challenges the returning two-division ONE MMA World Champion Christian “The Warrior” Lee for his ONE Lightweight MMA World Title in the main event of ONE Fight Night 26 on December 7 in Bangkok, Thailand.
The 32-year-old comes in with an immaculate 13-0 record. And while he’s certainly going to be facing his toughest opponent yet, he remains firm that he’ll keep his undefeated record alive.
“I have a zero-loss record, and losing is not in my plans,” he said.
Having grown up in Dagestan, it’s no secret that wrestling will be his main advantage in this fight, and he expects the grappling art to carry him to a win this weekend.
“Wrestling is my base, and I like this sport very much. I think everybody knows that very good wrestlers come from Dagestan. We start at a very early age. We get used to competing, fighting,” he said.
“It’s in our blood. In general, we love to wrestle. I mostly wrestle in all my fights. This is my base, and this base helps me win fights.”
Lee has been one of the best, if not the best, homegrown MMA fighters ONE has ever produced after he started off his fighting career as a prodigious young talent.
Still, Rasulov is confident that he can grind out a win over the two-division king, noting his wrestling advantages, coupled with Lee’s layoff, as the ultimate decider.
“I think that Christian Lee has not yet met an opponent like me. My wrestling is better than his. I will force my wrestling on him. He has had a long layoff, and I think he will get tired more than me. I just have to force my game on him,” he said.
“Of course, I’m aiming for that belt, and he’s going to have a really hard time in this fight.”
