ONE Fight Night 26 results and recap: Shamil Gasanov vs. Halil Amir

Russian featherweight contender Shamil Gasanov returned to the legendary Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok on Friday night for a high-stakes clash with Turkish knockout artist Halil Amir.

After suffering the first loss of his MMA career last year against Garry Tonon, Gasanov has bounced back with back-to-back wins against Oh Ho Taek and Aaron Canarte in his last two outings. Now sitting as the fourth-ranked contender in the division, ‘The Cobra’ faces another tough test when he meets the 10-1 Amir at ONE Fight Night 26 on Prime Video.

Round 1: Gasanov immediately shoots in for a takedown and manages to lift Amir in the air before slamming him to the mat and taking his back. Gasanov starts fishing for a rear-naked choke just over a minute into the round, but he can’t quite get his forearm under the chin. Gasanov locks in a body triangle and Amir shifts his body weight to try and defend against the hold.

Amir is doing a good job of defending, but that’s all he can really do at this point as Gasanov reigns down some short shots to try and soften up Amir and find an opening for the RNC. Amir unlocks the body triangle and briefly gets back to his feet, but Gasanov sends him crashing back to the mat. Amir scrambles, but Gasanov stays one step ahead and gets right back onto Amir’s back.

Amir again scrambles, prompting Gasanov to attack his arm. Amri fights his way up and scores his own takedown against Gasanov, getting into side control moments before the round comes to a close.

Round 2: Halil Amir comes out kicking in the second round, trying to keep Gasanov at bay. 40 seconds into the round, Gasanov shoots in for a single leg, driving Amir into the corner. Amir maintains his balance and keeps his feet on the floor. Gasanov switches to a body lock before dropping back down for a double leg. Gasanov lifts up Amir and appears to have the takedown, but Amir wraps his arm around the top ring rope to stay upright.

Referee Herb Dean calls time and issues a yellow card to Amir for using the rope to stay on his feet.

Once the fight resumes, Gasanov gets Amir on the mat with half of the round still remaining. Amir is hand fighting, preventing Gasanov from passing into a more dominant position or reigning down ground-and-pound strikes. Gasanov settles into half-guard and holds the position for the remainder of the round.

Round 3: Amir comes out looking to land something big early, likely recognizing that he’s down big after two rounds, but his aggression allows Gasanov to secure yet another takedown less than a minute into the bout. Gasanov settles right back into half-guard. Amir scrambles, but ‘The Cobra’ immediately transitions to taking his back. Amir escapes out the back door, but Gasanov is right back on the takedown, muscling Amir to the mat.

Amir scrambles his way out of the position and initiates his own takedown, but Gasanov stays clinging to his leg and refuses to let it go. Amir jumps the guillotine and appears to have it locked in, but Gasanov spins around to defend. Amir switches to a d’arce, but Gasanov slips out and ends the round in a dominant position on the mat.

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ONE Fight Night 26 - Shamil Gasanov vs. Halil Amir Official Result

Shamil Gasanov was victorious in his return to martial arts’ biggest global stage, earning a unanimous decision victory over Halil Amir at ONE Fight Night 26. With the victory, he moves to 4-1 under the ONE banner, 16-1 overall.

Now on a three-fight win streak, Gasanov could find himself in line for a shot at the ONE featherweight MMA world championship in 2025.

Official Result: Shamil Gasanov defeated Halil Amir via unanimous decision (MMA - featherweight)