“I’m happy that I won” – Shamil Gasanov pleased to gain all-important win over Oh Ho Taek despite not being at his best

A loss at ONE Fight Night 18 for Shamil Gasanov could have set ‘The Cobra’ back significantly in the featherweight division.

After suffering the first defeat of his career to Garry Tonon last time out, the Russian was in need of a win to change his fortunes around and get back to his title aspirations.

Gasanov picked up a unanimous decision verdict for his display against Oh Ho Taek in the main event this past weekend, but the contest wasn’t without its fair share of adversity.

He revealed after the fight that his pre-fight preparations had been made more difficult by a short battle with food poisoning, which had compromised him to some degree.

During his post-fight interview, the No.4-ranked Shamil Gasanov reflected on this struggle and how he was proud to get his hand raised despite not performing to his best:

“I'm pretty happy about the win. And I can say that it was a good performance from my side. Even though I didn't feel well, I'm happy that I won. I just want to say thank you to my trainer, thank you to all the people who supported me too.”

Watch the full interview below:

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Shamil Gasanov can look to build on this win throughout 2024

Whilst his performance may not have set the world alight, Shamil Gasanov can take a lot from it after getting the win by any means necessary.

‘The Cobra’ is back in the win column, with his position in the top five rankings now solidified. That gives him a great platform to build off of in the near future.

His victory over ‘Spider’ wasn’t a career-defining one but it could prove to be hugely important for his trajectory with a bigger, more high-stakes contest awaiting him next time out.

North American viewers with an active Prime Video subscription can rewatch all the action from ONE Fight Night 18 via the free event replay.