"I went through five rounds" - Alibeg Rasulov thankful for experience in victorious ONE debut 

For undefeated Turkish phenom Alibeg Rasulov, his victorious promotional bow at ONE Fight Night 23 was a result of his hard work and dedication over the past couple of months.

After putting pen to paper with the world's largest martial arts organization in January this year, the Dagestani-born athlete knew he'd had to work harder to transfer his regional success onto the biggest platform of combat sports.

Through his fight camp, the Hyperion Fighters athlete put himself through the wringer to evolve his grappling-heavy game and ensure he brings a more well-rounded craft into his debut against former divisional king Ok Rae Yoon at ONE Fight Night 23.

With the tougher part of the fight out of the way alongside the right mindset, Alibeg Rasulov did what he envisioned himself doing inside the legendary Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, last Friday, July 5.

Reflection on his momentous debut and his mindset heading into this fight, the lightweight MMA athlete shared:

"I'm really happy. I'm really happy that ONE Championship gave me such a chance. I was getting ready, I was training really hard, and I went through five rounds, and I won."

Sure, it wasn't the easiest of fights against Ok, who was eager to punch his ticket to a Christian Lee trilogy with the ONE interim lightweight MMA world championship on the line.

However, Rasulov's work from proximity and ground game prowess saw him kickstart things on the global stage of martial arts with a well-earned unanimous decision.

Unfortunately, his weigh-in day hiccup meant that he was ineligible to win the interim lightweight crown that was on the line for his dance partner.

Watch the full interview here:

---

Alibeg Rasulov believes he 'can do much better' in next ONE outing

Despite getting his hand raised in front of a sold-out audience inside the Mecca of Muay Thai, Alibeg Rasulov is far from pleased with his 25-minute output.

The 31-year-old said, however, guarantees he'd turn over a new leaf for his sophomore outing once he's recognized his shortcomings.

During the official post-event press conference, he said:

"You know, like it was a pretty difficult fight. I'm really happy to have won, and my opponent, he was strong, but still, I won. But I just can say that I can do much better."

The ONE Fight Night 23 replay is available to active Amazon Prime Video subscribers in the United States and Canada.