Rising Lightweight Star Saygid Izagakhmaev Demolishes Shinya Aoki At ONE 163

Saygid Izagakhmaev scored the biggest win of his mixed martial arts career to date after thwarting former two-time ONE lightweight titleholder Shinya Aoki in the first round of their joust at ONE 163 on Saturday, November 19 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

A protege of former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, Izagakhmaev weathered an early striking onslaught from Aoki before connecting on a massive straight right hand that dropped the Japanese legend.

Izagakhmaev pounced and battered the grounded Aoki with vicious blows on the ground en route to a dominant TKO finish.

The official stoppage came at the 1:26 mark of the opening round.

With the win, Izagakhmaev improved his win-loss slate to 22-2 and extended his undefeated streak under the promotion's banner to three matches.

Izagakhmaev, who originally predicted a submission win over Aoki, was rewarded with a $50,000 performance bonus by ONE chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong for his stunning performance.

Izagakhmaev could be next in line to challenge Christian Lee for the ONE lightweight championship, and he took his chance by calling out the Singaporean-American in his post-fight interview with Mitch Chilson.

The Russian stalwart is currently ranked No. 4 in the 77.1-kilogram weight class, and he may move up a spot in the Top Five by virtue of his scintillating win over Aoki.

On the other hand, Aoki fell to 47-11, with his last two outings under mixed martial arts rules ending in knockout losses.

Meanwhile, Lee etched his name in the history books this morning by defeating Kiamrian Abbasov to capture the vacant welterweight belt and become a two-division world champion.

Lee staged a remarkable comeback victory to stun Abbasov via fourth-round TKO in the main event of ONE on Prime Video 4.

Prior to sharing the stage with Abbasov, "The Warrior" made it clear that he has no plans to leave the lightweight division and assured that he is willing to face all comers.