Asadula Imangazaliev is the new ONE Flyweight Muay Thai World Champion, and he is just getting started. The undefeated Russian phenom claimed the vacant title in a gruelling five-round battle against Aslamjon Ortikov in the main event of The Inner Circle 20 on June 26 to become Russia's first-ever ONE Muay Thai World Champion.
The two undefeated warriors pushed each other to the absolute limit across five rounds in a contest that lived up to every expectation. In the end, it was Imangazaliev's relentless output and unpredictable attacking arsenal that swayed two of the three judges in his favor, earning him the split-decision victory and keeping his unbeaten record intact at 13-0.
The new champion arrived at this moment with a clear mission, and he executed it to perfection.
"My game plan was to keep moving forward and prove that I'm the best fighter in the world right now. I believe I did exactly that, so the plan worked perfectly," he said.
For Imangazaliev, this title victory represents the fulfilment of a goal that has driven him through every training session and every fight. The weight of the moment was not lost on the 22-year-old, who had previously been denied the crown, despite knocking out Muay Thai legend Nong-O Hama, due to a weight miss. This time, there were no obstacles between him and the belt.
"It means everything to me. I'm incredibly happy that I've achieved that goal. But this is only the beginning. I'm still very young, I still have a lot of work to do, and I truly believe I can become the greatest Muay Thai world champion of all time," he explained.
Imangazaliev is not interested in choosing comfortable paths to greatness. The new champion made his position on future title defenses abundantly clear, throwing the door wide open to any and all challengers.
"I've never picked my opponents, and now that I'm the world champion, I'm definitely not going to start choosing them. Whoever ONE puts in front of me, I'll be ready to defend my belt," he added.
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