I am the next champion; I will smash you: Saygid channels inner Khabib at ONE

Saygid Izagakhmaev secured his second victory in ONE Championship last day when he dominated Zhang Lipeng at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. The Russian MMA star had earlier made a dominant promotional debut and has his eyes set on the ONE Championship Lightweight title.

Known for his association with former UFC champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, Saygid channelled his inner Khabib during his fight with Zhang. In the video that ONE Championship has released, Saygid is seen talking to his opponent just like Khabib used to do during his fights in the UFC.

“I’m the next champion, lightweight. Lightweight of ONE, okay? I’ll smash you,” Saygid is seen saying in the video.

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Saygid currently holds a professional MMA record of 21-2 to his name and is on a four-fight winning streak at the moment. He made his ONE Championship debut at ONE: Heavy Hitters back in January 2022.

Saygid impressed everyone in this debut as he submitted James Nakashima in the second round through a Brabo Choke. Prior to joining ONE Championship, Saygid competed in Eagle Fighting Championship and UAE Warriors among other promotions.

This is not the first time that Saygid has talked about capturing the ONE Lightweight title as he has expressed his desire in the past as well.

ALSO READ | Christian Lee believes that he can finish Saygid Izagakhmaev

Interestingly, the ONE Lightweight division is currently ruled by Christian Lee who recently won the title back from Ok Rae Yoon. Lee noted that he is the best Lightweight in the world across all the promotions and in the past, he had also noted that he could get the better of Khabib Nurmagomedov.

What do you think about the video featuring Saygid? Let us know in the comments below.

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