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Akbar Abdullaev blames no one but himself for his inability to become the new ONE featherweight MMA world champion.
'Bakal' emerged triumphant in his five-round main event showdown with the 155-pound MMA division's ruler Tang Kai at ONE Fight Night 27 at Bangkok's Lumpinee Stadium last Friday.
However, what was supposed to be the pinnacle moment of his remarkable career was dampened by a weight and hydration miss.
While the bout still proceeded at a 156.75-pound catchweight, Abdullaev was ineligible to claim the belt nor win a performance bonus, per ONE Championship rules.
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Speaking to The Bangkok Post's Nick Atkin post-match, a regretful Abdullaev took full responsibility for his mishap:
"This kind of thing happens. I never had this problem before. Actually I had to wait quite a while to get my weight and I was able to make weight, but then with the hydration, that’s where I clearly messed up. But things happen."
To be fair, the Kyrgztani destroyer worked like hell and tried to make weight and hydration thrice throughout the allotted three-hour window.
But as Akbar Abdullaev learned the hard way, a true champion is not just defined by his victories in the ring, but also by his professionalism outside of it.
ONE Fight Night 27 is a wake-up call for Akbar Abdullaev
Belt or not, Akbar Abdullaev definitely proved he's the best 155-pound MMA fighter in the division with his one-sided beatdown of Tang Kai.
Nobody has been able to manhandle the Chinese superstar before, yet the 27-year-old did it with relative ease en route to a TKO finish in the final frame.
Still, Abdullaev admits it's hard to celebrate the biggest victory of his career knowing he could have achieved so much more.
The Al Munar Team and Tiger Muay Thai athlete had this to say in the post-event interview:
"I didn't get my bonus. I didn't get my belt. So I can't really say much more about that."
The full replay of ONE Fight Night 27 is available free on demand for Prime Video subscribers in North America.
Watch the full interview:
