ONE Championship's Saygid Izagakhmaev continues training at AKA in US, eyes June return

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ONE Championship top recruit Saygid Izagahkmaev eyes June return. [Photo: @saygid_izagahkmaev on Instagram]

Saygid Izagahkmaev had a debut to remember at ONE Championship: Heavy Hitters on January 14.

Izagakhmaev wasted no time in making a lasting impression when he forced MMA veteran James Nakashima to tap out to a brabo choke at the 2:17 mark of the second round. That was all ONE CEO Chatri Sityodtong needed to see to reward his newest signee with an immediate US$ 50,000 bonus to sweeten the win.

Now, it seems that the Dagestani fighter is intent on taking his time to relax a bit before further honing his craft. In a recent Instagram story, retired MMA superstar Khabib Nurmagomedov revealed that his good friend wants to spend his bonus first and is eyeing a June return to ONE.

As great fighters do, Izagahkmaev is indeed mixing business with pleasure. He recently posted training videos with the American Kickboxing Academy on his Instagram stories before heading out to watch UFC 270.

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ONE Championship fans might be disappointed that they have to wait nearly half a year to see Izagakhmaev again. However, he will likely be worth the wait given what he has already shown in his first fight with the promotion.

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ONE Championship's Saygid Izagahkmaev debuts at No. 5 in lightweight title contender rankings

It did not take long for Saygid Izagahkmaev to prove that he was worth the massive hype surrounding him prior to his ONE debut.

Following his win against James Nakashima, the Russian submission specialist took his place at No. 5 in the most recent contender rankings for Ok Rae Yoon's lightweight title. Above him on the ladder right now are Christian Lee, Dagi Arslanaliev, Shinya Aoki and Iuri Lapicus.

Come June, any match booked with Izagakhmaev and one of the lightweight title contenders easily becomes must-watch content. His debut match was likely just a taste of what's yet to come.

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