“I’m Ready for Everyone”- Khabib Nurmagomedov’s Stablemate Saygid Izagakhmaev Puts the Lightweight Division on Notice

Saygid Izagakhmaev is ready to collide with anyone that ONE Championship puts across him. And without a doubt, the Dagestani fighter feels he would outclass anyone on his way to the ONE Lightweight World Title.

The 28-year-old registered his third successive triumph in the Circle by taking out his toughest career test to date. Izagakhmaev’s complete arsenal allowed him to pick apart former lightweight king Shinya “Tobikan Judan” Aoki at ONE 163 this past weekend.

Izagakhmaev, however, feels that he can better that dominant performance when he returns to the Circle next. “As I always said previously, I will smash everyone that wants to fight with me. With these two hands, I will fight with whoever wants to fight with me,” the Nurmagomedov MMA representative offered.

Saygid Izagakhmaev chose to win with his strikes

Aoki threatened the Russian with heavy hands as soon as the bell rang, but the #4-ranked contender replied with a similar tactic. Before long, he dropped the Japanese legend with a looping right hand and followed up with an intense ground-and-pound to gain the stoppage at 86 seconds.

Knowing that Aoki’s grappling would be a tough nut to crack, Izagakhmaev’s teammates, including MMA legend Khabib Nurmagomedov, warned him that the best route was to take out the Japanese on the feet.

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“The plan was to work with him in the striking. But in the first few minutes, when I punched him, and I saw he was shaking a little bit, I was thinking ‘Hey, should I submit him?’ And I was like, ‘No, let me just finish him like this,” he said.

Saygid Izagakhmaev is ready for everyone

With that impressive win, Izagakhmaev moved 3-0 in ONE and 22-2 in his overall MMA record. That puts him as one of the favorites to challenge for Christian “The Warrior” Lee’s lightweight crown. But even if he doesn’t get an immediate shot at the Singaporean-American’s World Title, Izagakhmaev wouldn’t be dissatisfied.

Instead, the Russian wants to earn a string of impressive wins against the biggest names on the promotion’s roster on his way to a five-round matchup versus Lee.

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“Yeah, that was my goal, to come to this organization and prove to myself that I’m the best. Because when I signed, my goal was to have fights with Aoki, with Eddie Alvarez, and the rest of the guys,” Izagakhmaev said.

“There are a couple more names that I want to fight, but again, it’s up to the organization. Just give me fights. I’m not going to select anyone. I’m ready for everyone.”