Alibeg Rasulov says he was calm and collected heading into Ok Rae Yoon fight: "I wasn't too worried"
Alibeg Rasulov didn't feel any added pressure for his ONE Championship debut.
On Friday, July 5, Rasulov headlined ONE Fight Night 23 in his first fight under the promotional banner. The Turkish lightweight was quickly put to the test against former ONE lightweight MMA world champion Ok Rae Yoon, who was coming off a unanimous decision win against Lowen Tynanes.
Ok was the only one eligible to win the interim ONE lightweight MMA world title, as Rasulov failed to pass hydration within the alloted time.
The ONE Fight Night 23 headliners battled for the entire five rounds, with the promotional newcomer emerging victorious by unanimous decision, likely setting up a fight with Christian Lee.
During his post-event press conference, Rasulov was asked about his emotions heading into his ONE debut. The undefeated 31-year-old responded by saying:
"I have experience. I fought more people in the past. I had a lot of fights before. So yeah, I was just getting ready. I wasn't too worried, and I will stay in this weight division."
ONE Fight Night 23 took place inside the legendary Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
The replay of the July 5 event featuring Alibeg Rasulov's promotional debut win can be watched by North American and Canadian viewers with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription.
Watch Rasulov's entire post-event press conference below:
Alibeg Rasulov looks to dethrone Christian Lee of lightweight gold later this year
Heading into ONE Fight Night 23, ONE lightweight MMA world champion Christian Lee revealed he was keeping a close eye on Alibeg Rasulov vs Ok Rae Yoon.
Lee last fought in November 2022, defeating Kiamrian Abbasov to become a two-division world champion before enduring an extended layoff.
It's unclear when and where Lee will make his highly-anticipated return. With that said, the two-division king's next opponent seems clear after Rasulov claimed the ONE interim lightweight MMA world title by defeating Ok last week.
Lee also revealed he wants to fight in North America this year. ONE 168: Denver takes place on September 6 and might be a realistic turnaround date for Rasulov.
If that doesn't materialize, the organization's two-division MMA world champion could also see ONE 169: Atlanta, which goes down on November 8, as another potential date for a return to action.