“My strength is sticking and moving” - Tang Kai unfazed by challenger Akbar Abdullaev’s signature forward pressure

Tang Kai compared his general fighting style to his upcoming opponent's.

Eight fighters have attempted to defeat Tang in ONE Championship, with everyone failing thus far. The featherweight MMA world champion now faces a new challenger, who plans to skyrocket his marketability at ONE Fight Night 27.

Akbar Abdullaev has fought in ONE three times, leading to three knockout wins. On January 10, the 27-year-old Kyrgyzstan native looks to dethrone Tang and prove he's the promotion's next big MMA superstar.

Tang recently did an interview with ONE to discuss his upcoming matchup in the ONE Fight Night 27 main event. He had this to say about Abdullaev:

“His strength is the way he pushes forward. Compared with me, I think my strength is sticking and moving.”

Tang Kai became the ONE featherweight MMA world champion with a unanimous decision win against Thanh Lee. Tang didn't return for a year-and-a-half due to a knee injury, with his last fight being a successful world title unification against Le (third-round knockout) in March 2024.

ONE Fight Night 27 goes down inside the legendary Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand. Next Friday's event can be seen live and for free by North American and Canadian viewers with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription.

In the co-main event, Denice Zamboange and Alyona Rassohyna will battle for the interim women's atomweight MMA world title. The winner is expected to face Stamp Fairtex, who's recovering from a torn meniscus, for the undisputed strap.

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Akbar Abdullaev looks to continue impressive ONE Championship run with Tang Kai win

Akbar Abdullaev made his ONE Championship debut in March 2023, securing a 44-second knockout win against Oh Ho Taek.

Abdullaev had a similar performance in his sophomore outing, a 41-second knockout against Aaron Canarte in June of the same year.

Abdullaev fought once in 2024, defeating Halil Amir by second-round knockout in May. The 27-year-old has proven to be a threat to Tang Kai's featherweight MMA throne, which he plans to showcase in the ONE Fight Night 27 main event.

'Bakal' enters his fourth promotional appearance with an undefeated professional MMA record of 11-0. Meanwhile, Tang holds a record of 19-2 (8-0 in ONE).