“Defeat does not take anything away from your masculinity” - Saygid Izagakhmaev offers words of encouragement to Beybulat Isaev

Saygid Izagakhmaev made his highly-anticipated debut at ONE: Heavy Hitters on January 14. The Russian showcased his ruthless all-around abilities on his way to a second-round submission win over America’s James Nakashima.

His mentor and coach, Khabib Nurmagomedov, could not corner Saygid Izagakhmaev as the MMA icon tested positive for COVID-19 before the spectacle at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

To everyone’s surprise, it was ONE Super Series star, Beybulat Isaev, who accompanied Saygid Izagakhmaev instead, standing in ‘The Eagle’s place. Isaev suffered a 31-second knockout to another debutant earlier on the card, Giannis ‘Hercules’ Stoforidis, three fights prior to the 27-year-old’s lightweight clash.

In a recent Instagram post, the Dagestani fighter thanked the Russian tank for his good deed and wished him a successful return to the Circle.

“Defeat does not take anything away from your masculinity. Thank you for your support brother @beybulat_isaev , waiting for your comeback”

Isaev responded to the kind words:

“My pleasure, brother! Inshallah, we make a comeback!”

There have been no reports on whether Isaev and Izagakhmaev share a close bond.

However, seeing that the two Russian megastars enjoyed each other’s company in the Circle, perhaps the lightweight athlete should return the favor and accompany Isaev when he returns to competition.

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Who should Saygid Izagakhmaev fight next?

Following his win in Singapore last Friday, the Russian fighter made his intentions known and called out the lightweight division’s top athletes.

His victory earned him the No.5 spot in the ONE lightweight division. The promotion’s 77.1-kg division houses the likes of Japanese MMA legend Shinya Aoki, knockout machine Dagi Arslanaliev, Iuri Lapicus, Timofey Nastyukhin and former lightweight king Christian Lee, to name a few.

Three possible names that could clash against the Russian fighter at some point this year are multi-time MMA world champion Eddie Alvarez, former No.5-ranked Timofey Nastyukhin, or No. 4-ranked Iuri Lapicus.

Alvarez is keen to return to action while Nastyukhin would love to avenge his knockout loss defeat to Arslanaliev in his last outing and get himself back into the division's ranked spots. Submission specialist Lapicus eyes a return this year too.

All three names will be appealing to the Russian megastar as he has his eyes set on Ok Rae Yoon’s lightweight gold.