"The last two years have been tough for me" - Alibeg Rasulov reflects on the road that led him to ONE Championship

Alibeg Rasulov reflected on struggling to find an opponent before signing with ONE Championship.

The regional MMA scene can be brutal for high-level fighters. Top promotions may want to see another impressive performance before signing them, but they can't find any opponents to take the risk.

The previously described situation is familiar to Rasulov, who's making his ONE debut later this week.

At 31 years old, Rasulov has established a professional MMA record of 14-0, including 10 wins inside the distance. During an interview with ONE, the Turkish lightweight had this to say about his struggles over the last two years:

"The last two years have been difficult, to say the least. Because I couldn't find an opponent, I couldn't fight. So the last two years have been tough for me. Life experience, in general, I just trained an prepared, while waiting for the right moment."

Rasulov won't have to worry about finding top-tier opponents, as the ONE lightweight MMA division is filled with world-class rivals who will bring out the best in him and allow him to continue levelling up his game.

Later this week, the 31-year-old looks to validate his hype by taking out a former world champion in the weight class.

---

Alibeg Rasulov immediately jumping into the deep end against Ok Rae Yoon

On Friday, July 5, Alibeg Rasulov will make his ONE Championship debut against Ok Rae Yoon at ONE Fight Night 23.

Furthermore, the Turkish lightweight will have an opportunity to grab the interim ONE lightweight MMA world title in his promotional bow.

Ok, who lost his divisional gold against Lee, enters the upcoming main event after defeating Lowen Tynanes by unanimous decision. The South Korean lightweight looks to earn a trilogy fight against Lee, with the series tied 1-1.

ONE Fight Night 23 goes down inside the legendary Lumpinee Boxing Stadium. The July 5 event can be seen live in U.S. primetime for free by North American and Canadian viewers with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription.