Murad Ramazanov reveals his greatest MMA treasure is Marat Gafurov’s signed ONE gloves

Undefeated Russian welterweight contender Murad Ramazanov has come a long way in his martial arts journey. Along his path, he’s been met with many world-class athletes who have inspired him to become an absolute monster of a fighter himself.

But for Ramazanov, no legend could be as great as former ONE featherweight world champion Marat ‘Cobra’ Gafurov.

You can count Ramazanov as one of the many young Russian fighters who were inspired by Gafurov’s legendary career.

In a recent interview with ONE Championship, Murad Ramazanov talked about his experience meeting Gafurov for the first time and receiving a very cool gift. He told the promotion:

“As for the gloves, he was already signed with ONE, and I simply asked him to give me his fighting gloves if he would win. He won, I got the gloves.”

That moment in Ramazanov’s life and career, before he even joined ONE Championship, would ignite a spark in his training and he’s been on an absolute tear since.

The Russian stalwart is in for the fight of his life, however, as he faces a dangerous knockout puncher in his next fight in perhaps his toughest test yet.

Murad Ramazanov is scheduled to face Croatian sensation Roberto ‘Robocop’ Soldic at ONE on Prime Video 5, when ONE Championship returns to the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila, Philippines later this week.

Ramazanov is coming into this fight a massive underdog, with most fans eagerly anticipating Soldic’s ONE Championship debut. However, that has not dampened Ramazanov’s spirits one bit. In fact, he’s looking to shock the world and prove the doubters wrong by taking out one of the most dangerous fighters in MMA today.

ONE on Prime Video 5: De Ridder vs. Malykhin broadcasts live on Friday, December 2, and is free for fans in the United States and Canada with an Amazon Prime subscription.

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Murad Ramazanov explains why Marat Gafurov is his MMA inspiration

Getting to train with your sporting inspirations was always a pipedream for most athletes, but Murad Ramazanov got to live it as a reality.

Speaking to ONE Championship about his career, Ramazanov recalled why former ONE featherweight world champion Marat Gafurov became his favorite fighter.

Ramazanov said he got to train with Gafurov when he was coming up and they eventually became close friends after having bonded inside the gym:

“We used to train at the same gym, and he was already very famous - no one could beat ‘Cobra’ Gafurov. He was someone I looked up to, I loved training with him, even though sometimes it made me cry. I wanted to win against him in sparring so badly, but it was impossible. When Marat gets a top position, it is like being pinned down by a massive slab, it is impossible to get out. One day, several years later, I was able to win with a kimura. What a happy day it was.”