Chatri Sityodtong says Chingiz Allazov being "more explosive" than Superbon led to victory

ONE Championship CEO Chatri Sityodtong was highly impressed by Chingiz Allazov’s performance in the main event of ONE Fight Night 6.

Like many fans who had been waiting for this fight for a long time, Sityodtong initially thought that this fight would be a lot closer than it ended up being.

With Superbon’s elite fight IQ, the idea of Chingiz Allazov blowing right through him on January 13 would’ve been a very bold prediction. However, that’s exactly what happened once the cage door closed in Bangkok.

With his speed and punching power, the ONE Featherweight Kickboxing World Grand Prix winner put the pressure on the champion right from the first bell. He landed three knockdowns in the second round to become the ONE featherweight kickboxing world champion.

In an interview with SCMP MMA, Chatri Sityodtong spoke about how his expectations for the fight changed once he saw the opening minutes play out:

“You know, obviously hindsight is 20-20. Going into it, I knew that Chingiz [Allazov] was the faster and more explosive fighter. But I assumed that, you know, Superbon has a very high ring IQ -- very intelligent, in terms of setting up game plans, finding his opponents’ tendencies, and counter attacking off those tendencies.”

He added:

“But after the first minute or two, I was like this guy Chingiz is too fast and even his counter attacks. If Superbon went first he was there already answering pop, pop, pop, two or three.”

Watch the full interview below:

---

Chingiz Allazov discusses state of featherweight kickboxing division and who could be next

Newly crowned ONE featherweight kickboxing world champion Chingiz Allazov has started surveying the division to look for his next challenge after dethroning Superbon.

At ONE Fight Night 6, Allazov put the world champion away inside two rounds, producing a career-best performance against the pound-for-pound No.1.

After kicking off ONE’s 2023 with what is sure to be one of the year’s most impressive displays inside the circle, Chingiz Allazov is looking to make this a historic year by chasing down some of the other legends in the featherweight division.

In his post-fight press conference, the newly crowned champ spoke about the rest of the division and previewed who he could potentially face in his first world title defense:

“Sitthichai and Superbon are different types of fighters. I have big respect for Sitthichai. I have big respect for Superbon. But now I think Sitthichai will fight Grigorian and whoever wins will face me. Maybe Petrosyan will fight with Grigorian, no problem. I’ll wait for whoever wins this fight. I’ll fight with them. I like this fight. I will focus 100 percent. For me, no problem with any opponent.”

Allazov has scores to settle against both Petrosyan and Grigorian, who have defeated him in the past. On his way to winning the World Grand Prix last year, he got his revenge over Sitthichai Sitsongpeenong, beating him in the final to earn his shot at Superbon’s world championship.

Now sitting at the very top of the sport, Chingiz Allazov will call the shots. Regardless of who he faces next, he has a huge 2023 mapped out in front of him.

Watch the full post-fight interview below: