Turkish MMA prospect seeks to be a world title contender in 2017

Undefeated Turkish lightweight contender Saygid Guseyn

Arslanaliev is rapidly making a name for himself as an unstoppable force inside the ONE Championship cage.

The 22-year-old Dagestan, Russia-bred fighter has just four victories so far in his young mixed martial arts (MMA) career, but he attained three of the fastest finishes in ONE Championship.

Having an average cage time of just under a minute, Arslanaliev’s three wins have come by technical knockout and one by submission.

No opponent has even come close to surviving just one round with him. In his most recent bout, Arslanaliev forced China’s Haolan Jietebusibai to wave the white flag with a standing guillotine choke at the center of the cage.

After acing his three tests in ONE Championship with flying colors last year, Arslanaliev cemented his position as one of the bright MMA prospects in Asia.

Despite the recognition from many cageside pundits, Arslanaliev has set his sights on a heftier prize in 2017 as he looks to insert his name in the world title picture.

If it only took him one year to elevate himself as one of the must-watch young fighters in the region, Arslanaliev believes that he can work his way up the ladder in 2017 to secure a date with ONE Lightweight World Champion Eduard Folayang.

“If you train right and stay focused, anything is possible. Of course, if ONE Championship thinks that I deserve a shot at the title, I will get it right away. I won’t think twice,” he said.

Arslanaliev stressed that he always gets a championship fight-type of preparation every time he is booked for a bout.

“I can tell you that I will be more than ready to take the responsibility if ONE Championship chooses to give me a chance,” he stated.

Lightweight is a very deep division as ONE Championship houses a plethora of veteran fighters who could use their experience to offset Arslanaliev’s physical advantages.

However, Arslanaliev is willing to face anyone in his weight bracket to prove that he is a worthy candidate to vie for the coveted ONE Lightweight World Championship belt.

“To be honest, I don’t mind fighting anyone. I would fight anyone in my division. I only have four fights, but it’s great to see that ONE Championship believes in my skills. They believe that I can take on these guys with much more experience than me,” he shared.

“I will fight anyone that they throw at me. I will keep doing what I do,” Arslanaliev added.

For his first assignment in 2017, Arslanaliev is set to lock horns with Georgi “Stanchev” Stoyanov on the undercard of ONE: QUEST FOR POWER in Jakarta, Indonesia on 14 January.

Arslanaliev sees his three-round lightweight encounter with Stoyanov as one small step in his path to achieving his big dream.

“My coach always tells me that we don’t train for the next man in this organization, but rather we train everyday for the best lightweight out there. For sure, we make adjustments for the opponent who is currently in front of me. However, our target is not him. It’s the guy who holds the belt,” he explained.

“I am slowly coming up the lightweight ladder to see my dreams come true,” Arslanaliev ended.

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