ONE 163: Saygid Izagakhmaev destroys Shinya Aoki, wins $50,000 bonus

Fourth-ranked lightweight contender Saygid Izagakhmaev looked to score the biggest win of his mixed martial arts career on Saturday when he took on Asian MMA legend Shinya Aoki. Earning back-to-back wins in his first two outings inside the circle, Izagakhmaev was on a mission to make a statement and secure his first ONE world title opportunity with a win over Aoki on the ONE 163 main card.

In the early going, Aoki utilized kicks to keep distance between himself and Izagakhmaev. It did little to dissuade the Russian juggernaut from moving forward and Izagakhmaev landed a massive right hand that dropped Aoki near the fence. Smelling blood in the water, Izagakhmaev swarmed the Japanese icon, dropping bombs and leaving the referee with no choice but to step in and call for the stoppage.

Official Result: Saygid Izagakhmaev defeated Shinya Aoki via TKO at 1:26 of Round 1.

With the victory, Saygid Izagakhmaev likely secured himself as the next man in line to take on ONE lightweight world champion Christian Lee. Of course, just hours before ONE 163, Lee captured the ONE welterweight world title, becoming the latest ONE Championship fighter to hold belts in two divisions simultaneously.

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Saygid Izagakhmaev is ready for a world title fight with Christian Lee

Following the contest, Saygid Izagakhmaev shared his respect for Shinya Aoki and explained that any trash-talking between them was just to hype the fight. Through a translator, Izagakhmaev said:

“[I] apologized to Shinya for telling him [I'm] going to kill him. It was just trash talk. I respect him a lot.”

Learning that he was awarded a $50,000 bonus for his incredible first-round knockout of the former lightweight world champion, Izagakhmaev was thankful but revealed that he’s still hungry for ONE Championship gold:

“I saw that Christian won the fight today. I know he is a good opponent for me so that’s my next one. I’m looking forward to it Chatri [Sityodtong]. Make it happen!”

Still undefeated inside the circle, it appears that Izagakhmaev is on a collision course with ONE Championship's most prolific finisher in Christian Lee.

It’s too early to say what will be next for Lee, who's now a two-division champion reigning over both the welterweight and lightweight divisions. However, one thing we can say with certainty is that Izagakhmaev is ready to take on the absolute best inside the circle.