Khabib Nurmagomedov teases Saygid Izagakhmaev’s next fight in ONE Championship

Saygid Izagakhmaev left a lasting impression in his ONE Championship debut in January at ONE: Heavy Hitters. The Khabib Nurmagomedov protege turned in a dominant performance, ending the fight with a second-round submission victory over James Nakashima.

The win was so impressive that it earned Izagakhmaev a US $50,000 bonus after the fact. Suddenly, the ONE lightweight division has a new boogeyman, and the entire weight class has been put on notice.

From Khabib Nurmagomedov's Instagram stories

In a recent Instagram story, Nurmagomedov teased Izagakhmaev’s return to action in the ONE Championship Circle, with the caption:

“@onechampionship He miss you guys”

In the photo, Nurmagomedov is seen wearing a ONE Championship beanie, posing with Izagakhmaev.

Saygid Izagakhmaev is currently training at the American Kickboxing Academy. Here, the 27-year-old is surrounded by elite fighters such as Islam Makhachev, Usman Nurmagomedov and fellow ONE Championship athlete Yuri Simoes.

Izagakhmaev signed a lucrative contract with ONE Championship late last year, becoming the first athlete from Nurmagomedov’s fighting stable to sign with the Asian martial arts organization.

Options for Saygid Izagakhmaev’s next fight

Saygid Izagakhmaev’s performance against James Nakashima earlier this year has left fans of the sport astounded. First of all, Izagakhmaev appeared to be supersized for his weight class, and enjoyed quite the significant strength advantage over his American counterpart. Secondly, he appeared to maneuver his opponent with relative ease.

Following his victory, Izagakhmaev called out the top lightweights in ONE Championship, including former ONE lightweight world champion Shinya Aoki and former UFC champion Eddie Alvarez.

Both Aoki and Alvarez are stellar options for the Dagestani. However, there are a host of other big names in one of ONE Championship’s most stacked divisions.

In the top five alone, there’s No. 4-ranked Iuri Lapicus, No. 2-ranked Dagi Arslanaliev, and former ONE lightweight world champion Christian Lee.

Outside of the top five, if Izagakhmaev were to go that route, there are names like Pieter Buist, Zhang Lipeng, Eduard Folayang, and even Sage Northcutt. These are all very intriguing and promising matchups for the Russian stalwart.