ONE Championship news roundup: Saygid Izagakhmaev wants to get his hands on lightweight gold, Jonathan Haggerty plans to jump between divisions, Christian Lee credits BJ Penn as inspiration for world title fight

Welcome to today's edition of the daily Sportskeeda ONE Championship News Roundup, where we present the promotion's most important stories.

Today we talk about the weekend’s biggest stories, including Saygid Izagakhmaev’s path to the world title, Jonathan Haggerty’s career plans, and Christian Lee taking notes from BJ Penn’s career.

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#3. “Nobody will stop me” - Saygid Izagakhmaev says he’s destined to become ONE Championship lightweight world champion

Saygid Izagakhmaev was highly touted even before he arrived at ONE Championship, and Khabib Nurmagomedov’s prodigy wants nothing more than to go on a gold rush.

The Russian grappling machine is 2-0 in the promotion, and he will take on his biggest challenge yet when he faces Japanese legend Shinya Aoki at ONE 163 on November 19 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

Izagakhmaev, in an interview with ONE Championship, believes that it’s his destiny to become the ONE lightweight world champion sooner rather than later:

“I’m destined to be the lightweight champion, it’s only a matter of time. I think I will become the ONE world champion in half a year. I’m the new force in the lightweight division, and nobody will stop me.”

Izagakhmaev added that he should fight ONE lightweight world champion Christian Lee after he takes care of Aoki this Saturday:

“If I win the upcoming fight – and I’ll win it, Inshallah – I will challenge the champion of our division. Christian Lee has beaten everybody [else], but he knows who he hasn’t beaten.”

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#2. “I still think there's unfinished business” - Jonathan Haggerty could alternate between flyweight and bantamweight

Jonathan Haggerty may be jumping up to bantamweight, but he isn’t fully committing to his new weight class just yet.

The former ONE flyweight Muay Thai world champion will take on Russia’s Vladimir Kuzmin in his debut at 145 lbs at ONE on Prime Video 4 this Friday, November 18, at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

In an interview with ONE Championship, Haggerty said that he plans to jump back and forth between flyweight and bantamweight since he feels there’s still so much to do in his previous division:

“I feel that I left flyweight on top. I still think there's unfinished business, who knows, I might go from flyweight to bantamweight and keep going up and down. I'm not too sure yet. I'm going to see how the bantamweight division goes for me first. I’m just going to take it step by step.”

‘The General’ won the ONE flyweight Muay Thai world title in just his second fight in ONE Championship when he beat the legendary Sam-A Gaiyanghadao at ONE: For Honor in May 2019.

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#1. “BJ Penn is a good example” - Christian Lee says fellow Hawaiian BJ Penn is his inspiration for Kiamrian Abbasov fight

Christian Lee is heading off into unfamiliar territory as he ventures into the welterweight division for the first time in his ONE Championship tenure.

The reigning ONE lightweight world champion will gun for a second world title when he faces Kiamrian Abbasov for the ONE welterweight world title at ONE on Prime Video 4 this Friday, November 18, at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

Though this won’t be the first time that he’s jumping up a division, Lee said that he’s taking cues from Hawaiian star BJ Penn’s exploits. Penn was a former UFC lightweight and welterweight world champion and is a fighter that Lee admittedly admires.

In an interview with MMA Junkie, Lee said:

“BJ Penn is a good example. He didn't care if he was bigger or smaller. He just went in there and he fought. I have so much respect for the old-time fighters who would just go up and fight anyone no matter what weight they were. And that's kind of the same mindset that I'm taking into this fight.”

Lee started as a featherweight in ONE Championship but moved up a division to wreak havoc in the lightweight division. That shift, though, made the Singaporean-American an absolute superstar, and he’s now had two reigns with the ONE lightweight world title.