Shamil Erdogan Names Next Target After Going 14-0

The vacant ONE Heavyweight MMA World Title just got a very loud applicant.

Shamil Erdogan delivered on his pre-fight promise at ONE Fight Night 48 last Saturday, submitting Paul Elliott via rear-naked choke to improve his perfect record to 14-0, claim a US$50,000 performance bonus, and cement himself as the division's most compelling title contender.

The finish arrived exactly as Erdogan had predicted before the contest, with the Dagestani-born southpaw dragging Elliott into deep water before applying the submission in the second round. For Erdogan, the key to the performance was not any particular adjustment but rather the consistency of preparation that has made him one of the most complete heavyweights in the game.

"I can't say I was doing anything special or I had any special preparations for him. I was training pretty much the same way [as] I always do. I was working on my striking. I was working on my wrestling as well," he said.

The victory raised an interesting question about Erdogan's long-term ambitions. The Turkish wrestler has historically competed at middleweight and light heavyweight and made no secret of his desire to collect titles across multiple divisions.

"I'm more comfortable at [light] heavyweight. Generally speaking, I can take all three belts. I've never fought at heavyweight before, it was my [second] experience, but I just want to take all the belts that I can reach," he explained.

With his case for the vacant ONE Heavyweight MMA World Championship growing stronger by the fight, Erdogan wasted no time in naming his preferred next opponents.

The unbeaten Turk has two men in mind: Canadian powerhouse Ben Tynan, who has built a 2-0 ONE record, and the retired former three-division ONE World Champion Anatoly Malykhin, a name that clearly fires Erdogan's imagination more than any other.

"I would be happy to fight [Tynan] in the future. But I would really love [to face] Anatoly Malykhin. He is a legend in this sport. And I would really love it. But if he really did retire, I just wish good luck [to] him and his family," he added.