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After going one road with Tang Kai at ONE Fight Night 27, Akbar Abdullaev knew it was just a matter of time before he put the Chinese superstar away.
Abdullaev did exactly that in the fifth round of their catchweight headliner inside the legendary Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok. Originally, Abdullaev was scheduled to challenge Tang for the ONE featherweight MMA world title, but after the undefeated Kyrgyz failed to make weight and hydration, he was no longer eligible to leave Thailand with 26 pounds of gold.
Still, that didn't stop Abdullaev from putting his best foot forward and delivering a lights-out performance en route to his 12th career victory.
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Long before stepping inside the ring, Abdullaev was confident that he would come out on top. But after going a full round with Tang, 'Bakal' knew it was just a matter of time.
"I did know that after the first round, I could see in Tang Kai's eyes that I was going to win," Abdullaev said in his post-fight interview. "And I'm actually always aiming to win anyway. I don't go into a fight without knowing that I'm going to win. So I was expecting it."
Akbar Abdullaev is coming for Tang Kai's featherweight title
Though he failed to make weight ahead of his first ONE world title opportunity, Akbar Abdullaev's dominant performance against Tang Kai all but guarantees him another opportunity to bring home the gold.
But first, 'Bakal' plans on taking some time away from the fight game to fully recover.
"I’m gonna take a little break to recover, to get myself back together, and then I’m going to come back and take the gold," Abdullaev said.
Tang Kai's loss against Abdullaev snapped his eight-fight win streak under the ONE Championship banner. For now, he can take solace in the fact that he's still ONE's reigning featherweight MMA king, but with Abdullaev delivering an utterly dominant performance at ONE Fight Night 27, his days may very well be numbered.
If you missed any of the action, ONE Championship fans in the United States and Canada can watch the ONE Fight Night 27 replay on demand via Amazon Prime Video.
