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Shamil Gasanov explained why he found success against Halil Amir.
On December 6, Gasanov looked to extend his winning streak to three at ONE Fight Night 26. The Russian featherweight MMA contender was tasked with taking on rising superstar Halil Amir, who was coming off his first promotional loss.
Gasanov vs. Amir was expected to be a back-and-forth battle showcasing various elements of MMA. Instead, Gasanov utilized his grappling-heavy approach to secure a dominant unanimous decision win.
Following ONE Fight Night 26, Gasanov participated in a post-fight press conference. 'The Cobra' had this to say about his game plan:
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"The plan was to move behind his right leg – he’s a southpaw – and keep him guessing so he wouldn’t know when I’d go for the takedown. I think we managed to execute it well."
Shamil Gasanov made his ONE Championship debut in October 2022, defeating Kim Jae Woong by first-round submission. Gasanov's sophomore promotional appearance ended his run as an undefeated fighter, with Garry Tonon submitting him in round two of their ONE Fight Night 12 meeting.
Since then, Gasanov has bounced back with three consecutive unanimous decision wins against Oh Ho Taek, Aaron Canarte, and Halil Amir.
The full replay of ONE Fight Night 26, including Gasanov's win against Amir, is available on demand for North American and Canadian viewers with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription.
Where does Shamil Gasanov stand in ONE featherweight MMA division?
On March 1, Tang Kai solidified control of the ONE featherweight MMA division with a third-round knockout against Thanh Le. The ONE 166 matchup was the second time they fought, with Tang winning the first by unanimous decision.
Number two-ranked Ilya Freymanov and number three-ranked Martin Nguyen are coming off losses.
Meanwhile, number five-ranked Akbar Abdullaev looks to extend his 3-0 promotional record and become the new featherweight MMA champion on January 10, 2025, at ONE Fight Night 27.
As for the following title shot, Garry Tonon is coming off consecutive submission wins against Johnny Nunez, Shamil Gasanov, and Nguyen. ONE Championship could decide to give him the next featherweight title shot instead of Gasanov.
