‘I Didn’t Get My Belt’ – Akbar Abdullaev Reflects On Bittersweet Win Over Tang Kai At ONE Fight Night 27

The main event of ONE Fight Night 27 on Prime Video saw undefeated rising star Akbar “Bakal” Abdullaev turn in another dazzling performance to hand reigning ONE Featherweight MMA World Champion Tang Kai his first loss in ONE.

That clash went down in U.S. primetime on January 10, and it was originally slated to have Tang’s gold on the line. However, because Abdullaev was unable to make the featherweight limit while hydrated, he was ineligible to win the World Title.

Despite his struggles on the scale, the Kyrgyz fighter shined from start to finish, dominating his foe on the feet and the canvas en route to a fifth-round TKO. In short, “Bakal” looked a step ahead of Tang in every aspect of the fight.

Due to his weight miss, Abdullaev was also ineligible for a US$50,000 performance bonus – the same bonus that he won in each of his previous three knockout victories in ONE.

Following ONE Fight Night 27, he spoke to onefc.com about his bittersweet win over Tang:

“I don’t feel anything right now because I am used to getting a bonus. All three fights that I’ve had, I’ve won a bonus, and unfortunately, with the hydration, me not getting the right levels, I wasn’t able to get my bonus this time. But that’s okay because it’s all up to the greater power to decide.”

Abdullaev is certainly disappointed that he’s not leaving Bangkok as a newly crowned ONE World Champion.

But now 12-0 in his professional career with 12 finishes, he said the lopsided victory was never in doubt:

“I didn’t get my belt, so I can’t really say much more about that.

“I did know that after the first round, I could see in Tang Kai’s eyes that I was going to win. And I’m always aiming to win, anyway. I don’t go into a fight without knowing that I’m going to win, so I was expecting it.”

Indeed, Abdullaev looked nothing short of sensational against a man who is widely recognized as one of MMA’s pound-for-pound best and entered the showdown with a 12-fight winning streak.

Even though the 27-year-old was unable to take 26 pounds of ONE Championship gold from Tang, he believes he did plenty to show he’s the top competitor in the division:

“My goal was to prove that I am the best, and of course, winning the title or taking home the belt would be great, but that’s not my goal.

“My goal is to prove that I’m the best fighter, and that’s what I did today. So next time, I will do the same thing and hopefully also take the belt.”

‘I’m Ready’ – Abdullaev Targets Immediate Rematch Against Tang

Akbar Abdullaev is already thinking about a rematch with Tang Kai, ideally with the ONE Featherweight MMA World Title up for grabs.

He’s eager to face the titleholder as soon as possible – whether that’s in a couple of weeks, next month at ONE 171: Qatar, or at any point in the near future:

“I’m ready. I can do it at the next event. I can do it in Qatar. It’s just a matter of when he’s ready. I can do it next week. I can even do it tomorrow. Really, I’m ready.”

While he’s excited about a potential second date with the reigning World Champion, “Bakal” knows that an immediate World Title shot isn’t necessarily guaranteed.

He said he would be happy to face any one of the featherweight MMA division’s top contenders as he continues his quest to prove that he’s the true king:

“[My next fight] doesn’t really matter to me. In our weight division, everyone’s such a great fighter. So it’s what the boss would decide, what the organization would decide. I’m able to go against whoever.”