ONE Championship star Ilya Freymanov wants to prove that his debut win wasn’t a fluke when he steps into the ring for his second outing against Shinechagtga Zoltsetseg this Friday, June 9, at ONE Fight Night 11: Eersel vs. Menshikov. The #3-ranked featherweight contender burst onto ONE’s global stage when he took out former two-division World Champion Martin Nguyen in his debut last September, claiming Nguyen’s spot in the divisional rankings and a US$50,000 performance bonus in the process.
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Freymanov is confident that he’ll pick up a win in his sophomore appearance, too, and he’s got a satisfying rundown of events planned out in his head.
Ilya Freymanov will look to end the fight early despite his opponent’s formidable skills
“An ideal scenario is to end this fight early, get a double bonus of US$100,000, and then fight for the belt next. Now, that would be perfect”. Of course, that will be easier said than done against Zoltsetseg, who is also eager to make a mark in the featherweight division after his four-fight winning streak was snapped via a disqualification loss in his last outing.
With four of his six professional wins coming by knockout, though, the Mongolian star is an undeniably dangerous opponent for anyone. Freymanov is undeterred by his upcoming foe’s prowess, however, as he knows the winner of their tussle will be right in the middle of the World Title conversation.
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And with the rematch between former divisional king Thanh Le and current titleholder Tang Kai on pause due to injury, the Russian powerhouse is happy to sit and plot his route to the top prize once he puts Zoltsetseg down.
Ilya Freymanov would be looking at the elite ones after Shinechagtga Zoltsetseg
“I am ready to fight a challenger, a champion, or someone with good media exposure. My dream opponent will be the winner of the Tang Kai vs. Thanh Le rematch,” he said.
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“If Thanh wins, it would be ideal for me. He is well known. I would love the challenge of fighting him.” ONE Fight Night 11 will be broadcast live and for free on Prime Video for fans across North America with an active Amazon subscription.