Featherweight contender Shamil Gasanov has deservedly generated a huge amount of hype for a man with one fight to his name in ONE Championship.
“The Cobra” has a chance to show once again why he is so highly regarded when he takes on former ONE featherweight world title challenger Garry Tonon at ONE Fight Night 12: Superlek v Khalilov on Saturday.
Before the blockbuster event at Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, get to know the man from the mountains of Dagestan.
Gasanov grew up in a remote village in the Russian Republic of Dagestan, a hotbed for MMA talent that has produced some of the sport’s top athletes.
Following in his father’s footsteps, he started wrestling at an early age. There was nowhere to hide in the village, as the locals would routinely keep the youngster accountable if he were to miss training sessions.
Incredibly, Gasanov turned his back on medical college to pursue a career in wrestling. The promising wrestler transferred to study economics so that he could reduce his hours to part-time and allow for his training.
Having moved to Rostov to attend college, Gasanov discovered Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and, in turn, MMA.
At just 18 years old, he made the courageous decision to leave school behind and focus full time on fighting. Many of the neighbouring villages had produced world champions, and Gasanov wanted to show that athletes from his hometown could follow suit.
While living and training in the gym, sometimes in freezing conditions, he quickly set about blazing a trail of destruction through the local fight scene.
Ten of Gasanov’s 12 wins on the regional circuit ended in the first round, as the undefeated 27-year-old gained the attention of martial arts giant ONE Championship.
Entering the global stage with a considerable amount of hype behind him, Gasanov certainly delivered on debut.
Matched with featherweight contender Kim Jae-Woong, Gasanov made short work of the South Korean. The promotional newcomer quickly took the fight to the mat and sunk in a fight-ending rear-naked choke, needing little more than two minutes to get the job done. The victory set the ONE Championship world ablaze, and he was quickly installed into the No.5 spot of the division’s rankings.
Now, Gasanov steps up once again against No.2 ranked Tonon, the second-degree BJJ black belt who has eight wins to his name with the promotion dating back to 2017.
Victory over “The Lion Killer” could see the rising Dagestani star claim the next world title shot, or at least a world title eliminator.
ONE featherweight world champion Tang Kai is currently on the sidelines after a rematch with former divisional king Thanh Le was mooted due to injury.
While the match-up will likely be put together when the Chinese superstar is healthy, the featherweight division will be well and truly put on notice if Gasanov claims another scalp at ONE Fight Night 12.