Don’t think he is better than me at anything.- Saygid Izagakhmaev shares input on James Nakashima
The
debuting
Russian
star
will
have
a
chance
to
prove
his
point
when
he
takes
on
James
Nakashima
at
ONE:
HEAVY
HITTERS
on
Friday
(January
14).
“I
don’t
see
any
danger
from
him,
and
I
don’t
think
he
is
better
than
me
at
anything,”
the
27-year-old
offered.
“I’ve
already
watched
all
of
the
top
10
fighters
in
the
division.
I
think
the
toughest
of
them
all
is
James
Nakashima,
and
I
will
try
to
approach
this
fight
in
my
peak
form.”
Izagakhmaev
might
not
be
entirely
accurate
by
saying
that
Nakashima
is
the
toughest
of
the
lot.
The
lightweight
division
is
in
fact
packed
with
world-class
martial
artists
from
various
backgrounds,
especially
in
wrestling,
jiu-jitsu,
and
judo.
Most
of
the
stars
sitting
in
the
ranked
charts
of
the
weight
class
are
grappling
wizards
like
himself.
Among
them
are
Christian
“The
Warrior” Lee,
Dagi
Arslanaliev,
and
Shinya
“Tobikan
Judan”
Aoki.
However,
he
is
confident
of
wiping
out
the
entire
division,
not
only
with
his
wrestling
–
but
his
all-around
arsenal.
After
all,
the
name
of
the
sport
is
mixed
martial
arts,
and
the
Dagestani
native
believes
it
is
all
about
mixing
things
up
when
the
opportunity
arises.
Xiong
Jing
Nan
to
defend
Strawweight
gold
versus
Ayaka
Miura
at
ONE
Championship
2022
opener
“Since
my
opponent
is
a
wrestling
lover
too,
I
think
I
will
have
to
use
my
striking
skills
as
well.
I
can
use
my
elbows,
legs,
and
boxing
as
needed.
Even
if
I
can’t
take
him
down,
I
won’t
fixate
on
something.
I
will
beat
him
standing
up,”
Izagakhmaev
said.
“I
want
to
tell
my
future
opponents:
be
ready.
Be
ready
for
wrestling,
for
stand-up,
[it
makes]
no
difference.”
Despite
his
confidence,
the
Russian
athlete
refuses
to
make
a
bold
prediction
on
how
he
would
finish
the
former
ONE
Welterweight
World
Title
challenger
at
the
Singapore
Indoor
Stadium.
Instead,
he
chooses
to
remain
humble
ahead
of
his
first
battle
in
The
Home
of
Martial
Arts.
“I
can’t
say
anything
about
any
specific
way
of
[finishing]
James
Nakashima,
but
I
plan
to
finish
him
either
standing
or
on
the
ground,”
he
warned.
“We’ll
see.
But
where
I’m
from,
if
you
say
something,
you
have
to
prove
your
words
at
any
cost.”
Download
the
ONE
Super
App
to
catch
all
the
action
from
ONE:
HEAVY
HITTERS.
Fans
in
India
can
watch
the
show
live
on
Disney+
Hotstar
or
Star
Sports
Select
2,
beginning
with
the
lead
card
at
3:30
PM
India
Standard
Time
(IST)
on
Friday
(January
14).
Source:
Media
Release
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