Maurice Abevi believes he’ll need to rely on his striking to ‘weather the storm’ against Samat Mamedov: “He’s going to get tired”

Swiss grappler Maurice Abevi believes he'll have to rely on his striking to weather an early storm against ONE Championship newcomer Samat Mamedov.

With a pair of noteworthy wins against Blake Cooper and Zhang Lipeng in his last two outings, Abevi is primed to make it three in a row when he meets the 25-year-old prospect out of Kazakhstan.

The two will square off on Friday, September 6 when ONE Championship returns to The Mile High City for ONE 168: Denver.

Mamedov goes into his ONE debut sporting an impressive 10-0 record with all but one of his wins coming in the first round.

During a recent interview with the promotion, Abevi revealed his plan to exploit Mamedov's penchant for quick finishes, believing that if he can drag the Kazakh into the later rounds, Mamedov will inevitably gas out.

“He’s going to get tired if he’s used to finishing people quickly," Abevi said. "I’m going to use my jab, use my footwork, weather the storm in the first, and then take over in the second and third."

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Maurice Abevi thrilled to join ONE Championship's biggest names at ONE 168: Denver

Maurice Abevi will join some of ONE Championship's biggest stars as the promotion descends upon The Centennial State for one of the biggest combat sports events of the year.

Fight fans will be treated to two massive ONE world title clashes including a champion vs. champion showdown between reigning submission grappling kings Mikey Musumeci and Kade Ruotolo, as well as a battle between two-sport titleholder Jonathan Haggerty who puts his ONE bantamweight Muay Thai belt on the line against Superlek Kiatmoo9.

Abevi, who will share the stage with those four superstars in addition to legends like Aung La N Sang, John Lineker, Liam Harrison, and Seksan Or Kwanmuang, shared his excitement over the opportunity and believes his addition to the card shows how much faith ONE Championship has in him.

“It’s exciting, and I feel that by fighting in the U.S. now, it’s a sign that I am appreciated by ONE. I appreciate that from them as well," Abevi said. "They want me to deliver, and I want to deliver. I will give everything to deliver on that date.”

Follow this link for tickets for ONE 168: Denver on September 6 at Ball Arena.