ONE Lightweight World Champion Christian “The Warrior” Lee is looking at his next conquest, and he believes one guy could challenge him in the future.
Lee is referring to Russian grappling machine Saygid Izagakhmaev, who returns to action to take on China’s Zhang Lipeng at ONE 161: Petchmorakot vs. Tawanchai on 29 September at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.
The 24-year-old predicts that Izagakhmaev will hurdle the Chinese veteran, and he doesn’t see anyone stopping the protege of MMA great Khabib Nurmagomedov anytime soon.
“I think Saygid is going to win that fight. Lipeng, he’s a veteran of the sport, but I think Saygid brings a special skill set to the division. I think it’s going to take someone special to really stop his run, and I see him working his way up to a title shot real soon,” Lee told ONEFC.com.
Izagakhmaev made his debut in January of this year, submitting former ONE Welterweight World Title contender James Nakashima in the second round via brabo choke.
The Russian was as good as advertised in his debut, dominating the veteran Nakashima from the onset and eventually getting the stoppage win in his entry to The Home of Martial Arts.
As impressive as the win was for Izagakhmaev, though, Lee believes he needs another solid win after Zhang to get a World Title shot.
“Saygid has fought once in ONE Championship. Even though he’s got a good record outside of ONE, this will be another fight against somebody outside of the rankings, and I feel like there’s a ranking for reason. It really shows who’s the top five in the division,” he said.
“So, I think that there’s a good chance that he’s going to win that fight, and then I’d like to see him fight anyone in the top five, which would definitely give him a shot at the title.”
That said, he believes a battle of ‘Saygids’ would be the perfect way to decide all of this, as he thinks Dagi Arslanaliev would clear up the next challenger for his crown.
“[Dagi’s] another talented, dangerous fighter. But maybe one more fight for him would get him a title shot, too. He’s had one fight back – an impressive win over Timofey [Nastyhukin]—but he hasn’t been too active. Maybe you put [him against Izagakhmaev], and the winner of that will be ready for the title shot,” he said.
