As soon as he signed with ONE Championship in the year 2021, the Russian striking savant Tagir Khalilov set out on a mission to win 26 pounds of gold for his country.
If he can pull off a shocking upset against Superlek Kiatmoo9 in the main event of ONE Fight Night 12 on July 14 at Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, then that once unreachable pipe dream can become a reality.
Because he is not one to be satisfied with moral wins, ‘Samingpri’ has made it very obvious that he intends to add the reigning ONE flyweight kickboxing world champion to his list of knockout victims.
“There haven’t been any major adjustments made since the last bout. In an exclusive interview, he shared with the promotion that the only thing that has changed is that he has “gotten closer to the title fight, which I am waiting for so much.” “Well, of course, the only change is that I won again by knockout and got closer to it,” he said.
Khalilov agrees that he is looking at the bigger picture, but he makes it clear that he does not consider Superlek to be underrated in any way.
After all, a victory over the Thai competitor who appears to be unbeatable will catapult his stock to the top of the rankings.
On top of that, it will most likely set him up for a rematch with Rodtang, who is Superlek’s compatriot and also competes in the ONE flyweight Muay Thai world title fight.
Khalilov put up an admirable performance against ‘The Iron Man’ at ONE: Fists of Fury in 2021, despite the fact that he ended up losing the fight via a close split decision.
After suffering his second consecutive loss to Denis Puric at ONE 162 in the previous year, he came back with a fury by earning stunning knockout victory against Thai fighters Chorfah Tor Sangtiennoi and Black Panther at ONE Friday Fights.
If Khalilov were to pull off the almost impossible and become the first fighter in ONE Championship history to submit Superlek, then the rematch with Rodtang would be on equal footing with his.
This coming Friday, make sure not to miss the intense action of ONE Fight Night 12: Superlek vs. Khalilov taking place inside Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok and broadcast live on Prime Video.
Those in North America who already have a Prime Video membership can watch the full event without paying a fee as part of their membership benefits.
