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Armenian striking specialist Marat Grigorian tipped his hat to Abdelali Zahidi for making life difficult for him at ONE Friday Fights 92 on Dec. 20.
The No.2-ranked featherweight kickboxing contender used his usual aggression and boxing combinations to claim a second-round knockout over the Moroccan inside the Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
Before the highlight-reel moment arrived, though, Zahidi halted the run of play by holding on to Grigorian in the clinch, one that unfortunately earned him a card and points deduction.
While that tactic may have visibly frustrated him early on, Grigorian admits he wasn't in too much trouble. Instead, he stuck to his plan to ensure he got the victory.
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Speaking to members of the media at the post-fight press conference, the 33-year-old shared:
"He was always breaking me, like he was always trying to catch me. And the ref had to stop, and I always needed to start again. But everything was going well."
His win over Zahidi inside the Mecca of Muay Thai last week was his second triumph of 2024. At ONE 165 in January, the kickboxing veteran overcame longtime nemesis Sitthichai Sitsongpeenong via a third-round knockout.
Sandwiched between those triumphs was a defeat to Superbon in their ONE interim featherweight kickboxing world title tilt.
Marat Grigorian has a perfect opponent in mind for next fight in ONE Championship
Marat Grigorian has his eyes on promotional newcomer Liu Mengyang, who claimed a massive upset of Japanese kickboxing star Masaaki Noiri earlier in the night.
Having shared the ring with most of the division's top guns, the Armenian striker senses that Liu would be the perfect dance partner for him to carry on his winning ways in hopes of securing a shot at the divisional gold.
In the same presser, Marat Grigorian continued:
"I saw that the Chinese guy won [against] Noiri. So maybe him, I don't know. Who else? Because Noiri was in the top five I think. So that's why, and he lost today, and the Chinese guy will come in his place. So maybe I'm going to fight against him."
