There's a new Dagestani warrior in ONE Championship, and his name is Saygid Izagakhmaev.
Former UFC Lightweight World Champion Khabib Nurgamomedov broke the news of Saygid Izagakhmaev’s signing all over his social media, with the Russian grappling machine expected to make his debut in December.
“My brother @Saygid_Izagakhmaev has signed a contract with @ONEChampionship and his next fight will be [in] December,” the multi-time World Champion said before thanking ONE Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong for making this signing happen.
“Thank you so much @yodchatri it would be impossible without you, see you my friend, it was nice to meet you.”
To which Sityodtong responded: “Thank you for everything, Khabib. See you soon!”
Izagakhmaev is ready to wreak havoc in The Home Of Martial Arts, with the 27-year-old welterweight looking to carry his winning ways over to Asia’s premier promotion after posting a 19-2 record outside of it.
Izagakhmaev trains with Nurgamomedov at American Kickboxing Academy, which is also the home of reigning ONE Heavyweight World Champion “Singh” Arjan Bhullar.
There’s still no word as to which division Izagakhmaev will compete in, but there will certainly be major bouts waiting for him in his ONE debut.
He can pursue a route in the welterweight division where ONE World Champion Kiamrian “Brazen” Abbasov reigns supreme. He can also move down to lightweight and join fellow Dagestanis like Saygid “Dagi” Guseyn Arslanaliev and Marat “Cobra” Gafurov in scaling the loaded weight class.
Whatever division he ends up in, it’s certainly going to be a lot tougher with him around.
In the meantime, catch ONE: FIRST STRIKE on One Sports or One Sports+ at 8:30 p.m. Philippine Standard Time (PHT) on Friday, October 15.
It will also air simultaneously on the ONE Super App and ONE’s YouTube channel.