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ONE: First Strike scored a milestone in the world of kickboxing and produced great storylines following an evening of fantastic fights.
Among those moments was Marat Grigorian securing his place in the semi-finals of the ONE Featherweight Kickboxing Grand Prix. He had an intense staredown with future opponent Chingiz Allazov. During his post-fight press conference, Grigorian said:
"I was just thinking about my victory. I’m going to enjoy my moment now and after tomorrow, I’m going to think about my next fight."
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Fireworks are promised in the ONE Featherweight Kickboxing Grand Prix Semi-Finals
With his semi-final set, Marat Grigorian is already seeing himself come out on top in his next matchup. The Armenian fighter forecasts that the match will be ending early.
"Don’t forget to watch it because when I’m fighting it’s a war. Don’t blink because it can happen at any second."
Grigorian's quarter-final fight saw him get past legendary fighter Andy Souwer. The bout ended in the second round after the Dutch fighter suffered a leg injury.
The victory improved his professional kickboxing record to 65-11-1 (1 NC). It was Grigorian's 34th career knockout.
The upcoming fight between Marat and Allazov will be a rematch. Their first encounter was back in December 2013, which Allazov lost via unanimous decision.
Allazov is not a competitor Marat should take lightly. The Belarusian fighter will enter the clash riding a 39-second knockout against the taller Samy Sena, which came via a body curling punch to the body.
It was Allazov's first win in ONE Championship since losing to Enriko Kehl back in April this year. The fight was extremely close, with the judges ruling it a split decision in Kehl's favor.
The featherweight is a former K-1 super welterweight champion. At the age of 28, Allazov is in his prime and has already accumulated 63 professional bouts. He walks in to his match against Marat owning 57 victories. 35 of those came from knockouts.
Allazov has lost just five times and has never been knocked out. Among the fighters that conquered him outside of Kehl and Marat were Giorgio Petrosyan and Sittichai.
