Akbar Abdullaev reminds athletes to never stop chasing their dreams: "Set your goals and go for them"

Akbar Abdullaev finds himself in a difficult position following the main event of ONE Fight Night 27.

The undefeated No. 5-ranked contender has been waiting for the opportunity to compete for a world championship in his career. He finally got that on Jan. 10 at Lumpinee Stadium, where he faced Tang Kai in a huge matchup for the division.

Unfortunately, ahead of the fight Abdullaev failed to make weight, which meant that he would not be able to win the ONE featherweight MMA world title.

This didn't take away from his focus on fight night as through five rounds, he put on a dominant performance against the current champion before stopping him in the fifth round.

The fight was somewhat bittersweet for Abdullaev but he isn't letting that cloud over the positives that he can take away from this experience.

In his closing statement before leaving the ring on Jan. 10, the top contender wanted to send a message to his supporters to inspire them:

"Even though today, we didn't take home the belt, that's not the point. We still did our best and we improved our capabilities, our worth. So never give up. Set your goals, and go for them."

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Akbar Abdullaev is still focused on the task at hand

Akbar Abdullaev hopes that he can inspire others with his performance, but this chapter of his career isn't over.

He still has the world championship on his mind and wants to run it back with Tang Kai so that he can claim the featherweight gold next time around.

It's hard to see the fight going another way after how dominant Akbar Abdullaev was on Jan. 10.

Across every range, he was a step ahead of his opponent, who had produced an impressive winning streak during his time in ONE Championship.

North American viewers with an active Amazon Prime subscription can rewatch all the action from ONE Fight Night 27 via the free event replay.