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Alibeg Rasulov knows he cannot solely bank on his world-class grappling to get the job done against Ok Rae Yoon.
The undefeated Turkish debutant steps onto the global stage of ONE Championship for the first time, participating in a ONE interim lightweight MMA world champion tie against the South Korean superstar at ONE Fight Night 23 on July 5.
As tough of a debut as it may be, the Hyperion Fighters athlete has done his homework as he heads into his promotional bow with a massive opportunity on the line.
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Speaking exclusively to ONE Championship, Alibeg Rasulov provided an insight into his plan on fight night, sharing that he will be more than ready to trade leather with Ok should he manage to negate any takedown attempts.
He said:
"If I don't succeed in wrestling, I will fight standing, but I can fight on the ground as well. I'm going to force my tempo on him."
Indeed, that could be all he needs to come out victorious, claim the interim crown, and book a unification world title matchup against divisional king Christian Lee.
Lee utilized that exact strategy to finish Ok when they ran it back at ONE 160 in August 2022, and Rasulov, perhaps, has used that match as a blueprint to ensure he gets things off to a flyer at ONE Fight Night 23.
Ok Rae Yoon plans to keep it standing against Alibeg Rasulov
Before Alibeg Rasulov does decide to shoot for takedowns and punish Ok, the Turkish fighter will have to close the distance and potentially leave himself open to unwanted traffic from his foe.
The former ONE lightweight MMA world champion, for his part, hopes he'd be able to make the most of this possible opportunity as he aims for a trilogy meeting against Lee.
He told ONE Championship:
"I want to stay on my feet and light him up with my striking, essentially putting on a performance anyone can and will like."
North American fans with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription can catch the entire ONE Fight Night 23 card live in U.S. primetime for free on Friday, July 5.
