Uzbekistani juggernaut Aslamjon Ortikov is preparing for a tough battle against Asadula Imangazaliev of Russia in their scheduled title fight this week. However, he remains unfazed by the challenge at hand, believing he will emerge victorious.
The two top strikers will dispute the vacant flyweight Muay Thai world title in the headlining bout at The Inner Circle 20, ONE Championship‘s exclusive fight card offering, on June 26 at the Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand. Both are also staking their undefeated records in the ‘Home of Martial Arts’.
In an interview with the promotion ahead of their marquee clash, Ortikov shared his thoughts on ‘The Dagestan Ninja’ just as he reiterated his goal of becoming world champion.
“Asadula is a really good fighter. If he wasn’t good, he wouldn’t be here fighting for the title. He has really good skills and a different style, not the usual style. But I don’t think about the other stuff. I know why I came here. I just have to achieve my dream,” the 23-year-old Samarkand native said.
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Aslamjon Ortikov has been undefeated in 10 fights to date in ONE Championship, making him among the noted Muay Thai fighters in the flyweight lane. His latest victory was over Colombian Jordan Estupinan by TKO in the second round of their showdown in May.
Imangazaliev, for his part, has gone 8-0 in ONE. He faced Thai legend Nong-O Hama in March for the vacant flyweight gold and won by KO, but unfortunately, he missed weight and was ineligible to win the belt despite the victory.
The Inner Circle 20 will take place ahead of ONE Friday Fights 160 and stream exclusively on live.onefc.com.
Aslamjon Ortikov sees showdown against Asadula Imangazaliev not going the distance
Aslamjon Ortikov touts his showdown against Asadula Imangazaliev as an exciting clash, which he does not see going the distance.
He spoke about it in an interview with ONE Championship, highlighting that he intends to make full use of his knockout power to stop his opponent inside the distance.
“We are both still undefeated, and neither of us has been knocked down. This fight is going to be really crazy. One of us is going to be knocked down, and it’s not going to be me,” ‘El Pantera’ said.
Of the 10 victories of Aslamjon Ortikov in ONE Championship, five came by way of KO/TKO. Interestingly, the one he is trying to KO next, Imangazaliev, has won 7 of 8 fights by knockout.
Edited by Saiyed Adeem Karim
