ONE Championship: Kyrgyzstan’s Akbar Abdullaev stops Turkey’s Halil Amir for his 11th straight win but is hungry for more
- The Kyrgyz, who is set to be ranked in the top five, has fought three times for ONE Championship and earned a US$50k performance bonus each time
- The 26-year-old says the ‘economic difficulties’ of his country have helped produced hungry fighters with a winning mentality
The numbers might not always tell the story when it comes to assessing a fighter’s career but Akbar Abdullaev’s are extremely impressive. The 26-year-old scored the 11th win of his MMA career at ONE Fight Night 22 last weekend and has stopped every opponent he has ever faced.
When the ONE Championship rankings are updated to reflect the results of ONE Fight Night 22, the Kyrgyzstan fighter can expect to see his name appearing in the top five after the victory over Turkey’s Halil Amir.
It was Abdullaev’s first bout in the featherweight division but he has now fought three times for ONE Championship and been awarded a US$50,000 performance bonus each time. He has bolstered his bank account while enhancing his title credentials.
If you dig a little deeper, his recent numbers become even more impressive. Both Amir and Abdullaev’s previous opponent, Aaron Cañarte, was undefeated with unblemished 10-0 records going into their fights.
Abdullaev became the first man to beat both fighters. Speaking exclusively to the Post, he put his success down to a very simple formula:
“It’s all down to prayers and hard work.”
