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Tagir Khalilov wants to make sure he has a full arsenal before he takes on the biggest challenge of his career.
The Russian champion will face off against ONE Kickboxing World Champion Kiatmoo9 in a Muay Thai match at ONE Fight Night 12: Superlek vs.
Khalilov is heading for such a climactic showdown, trading skin with some of Phuket’s Tiger Muay Thai deadliest attackers.
Khalilov told ONE Championship in an interview that he regularly feuds with fellow knockout artist Felipe Lobo while preparing for Superlek.
“My sparring partner is also Felipe Lobo, who recently took out a very serious competitor, Saemapetch Fairtex. He helps me now, just like he helped me during the previous combat camp.”
Lobo faced the toughest competition possible in the ONE Championship and also challenged then world champion Nong-O Hama for the ONE bantamweight title in Muay Thai at ONE X.
Although he lost his world title bid, the Brazilian striker bounced back with a massive knockout win over former MTGP Muay Thai Champion Saemapetch Fairtex at ONE Fight Night 9.
Khalilov, meanwhile, is on a winning streak with first-round knockouts honoring Tour Sangtenui and Black Panther. With such strong momentum behind him, a win against Superlek could catapult Khalilov into a world title match against old foe Rodtang Jitmuangnon.
Khalilov faced Rodtang in a non-title bout in his ONE Championship debut in February 2021. Rodtang was already the ONE flyweight Muay Thai World Champion at the time, but the match was fought under kickboxing rules.
Although he was seen as a huge underdog facing The Iron Man, Khalilov showed incredible heart before succumbing to a split decision loss.
ONE Fight Night 12 is available live and free to all Prime Video subscribers in North America.
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