"I'll beat this guy, and the belt's mine" - Denis Puric says 'dangerous' Elias Mahmoudi will be a stepping stone to ONE gold

Denis Puric believes that if he's able to get past the next obstacle that is in his way, he will be on a one-way path to the world championship.

'The Bosnian Menace' has been a staple of ONE Championship's flyweight Muay Thai division since he made his debut in 2022.

Since then, he has faced some of the very best in the division, including the two men who last fought each other in a world championship bout, Rodtang Jitmuangnon and Jacob Smith.

The title is currently vacant after 'The Iron Man' failed to make weight for his rematch with Smith at ONE 169 and Puric is now in a perfect position to capitalize on this.

At ONE Fight Night 26 on Dec. 6, he will face Elias Mahmoudi for the first time and he's certainly not overlooking his opponent.

Mahmoudi has got some very impressive highlights on his record but that only makes Denis Puric more confident that if he gets his hand raised, it's on to the gold next time out, as he spoke about in a recent interview with ONE Championship:

"I think he's one of the most dangerous guys in the division. So, I'll beat this guy, and the belt's mine."

---

Denis Puric will go to war with Elias Mahmoudi if he has to

Denis Puric is not the type of competitor that backs down from a challenge and he isn't going to be intimidated by an opponent.

Mahmoudi put on a show last time out in his knockout win over Taiki Naito at ONE Fight Night 24 in August.

Though Puric knows that he has to be aware of the dangerous and creative striking that his next foe brings to the table, this will only make him even more motivated to put on a show for the fans and come away with the win at Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.

ONE Fight Night 26 will be available to active Amazon Prime Video subscribers in North America.