Alibeg Rasulov Eyes Title, Not Christian Lee, After Successful ONE Championship Debut

Alibeg Rasulov is focused on the ONE Championship 170-pound title rather — though not necessarily current champion Christian Lee — after a successful promotional debut on Friday.

Rasulov made his debut against former lightweight (170-pound) champ Ok Rae Yoon in the main event at ONE on Prime Video 23 at the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Thailand. The Turkish controlled the action against Yoon for the most part of 25 minutes to earn a unanimous decision win and extend his perfect record to 15-0.

“You know, it was a pretty difficult fight,” Rasulov said at the post-fight press conference. “I'm really happy to have won and my opponent, he was strong, but still I won. But I just can say that I can do much better.”

Rasulov and Yoon were originally slated to compete for the ONE Championship interim 170-pound title, with the winner going on to challenge lineal champ Lee. However, Rasulov was ineligible to win the belt because while he passed hydration testing and made 170 pounds, he couldn’t do it within the official time window.

“It's my first time competing in ONE Championship,” Rasulov said. “It’s a bit new for me, with hydration testing too. So that's why I had to cut weight twice. And, you know, that's why I'm saying I could do much better. But at the same time, it's a good experience. I will do much better in the future.”

Despite the weight miss, Rasulov could still be in line for the next title shot against Lee when he returns to action. For Rasulov, fighting for the belt is the only thing that matters and not the person holding it.

“It's not about Christian Lee. It's all about the belt,” he said. “I’m going to face anyone who holds the belt and I'm going to get this belt.”

Having barely sustained any damage in his promotional debut, Rasulov is ready to return to action soon.

“It's all going to depend on ONE Championship,” he said. “I’m not injured, I feel pretty good. I didn't take a lot of damage, so I'm going to be ready. And also, I just want to say that I don't want to waste my time. I'm ready for the fight if there's a fight. My weight is always good, so I'm going to be ready all the time.”