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Akbar Abdullaev doesn't plan to make significant changes for a potential fight against ONE featherweight MMA world champion Tang Kai. Abdullaev made his ONE Championship debut in March 2023 with a professional MMA record of 8-0.
Since then, he's proven to be a legitimate contender in the featherweight division by securing knockout wins against Oh Ho Taek, Aaron Canarte, and, most recently, Halil Amir.
'Bakal' last fought on May 3 when he handed Amir his first professional MMA loss. Following his impressive performance, Abdullaev sat down for a post-fight media interview and had this to say about a hypothetical matchup against Tang:
"Yeah, you know, I'm not gonna do anything new. It's gonna be the same strategy. Because he's also really strong standing, he's a pretty good striker. So, I'm pretty sure we're going to do the same things we do well, you know, we're gonna be striking, but at the same time, we're gonna do wrestling too."
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The replay of ONE Fight Night 22, including Abdullaev's knockout win against Amir, can be seen for free by North American and Canadian viewers with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription.
Watch Akbar Abdullaev's entire post-fight media interview below:
What's next for Akbar Abdullaev in ONE Championship?
It remains unclear if Akbar Abdullaev will get a spot in ONE's featherweight rankings following his win at ONE Fight Night 22. With that said, the 26-year-old Kyrgyzstan-born fighter has proven he's a rising contender to keep an eye out.
It's unclear who and when Abdullaev will fight next. Although it's unconfirmed by ONE, 'Bakal' could find himself against a ranked opponent, including Shamil Gasanov, Martin Nguyen, Ilya Freymanov, Garry Tonon, and Thanh Le.
Depending on his next opponent, the always-dangerous Abdullaev could be one or two wins away from a featherweight MMA title shot.
Watch the fight-ending sequence of Abdullaev's win at ONE Fight Night 22 below:
