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Shamil Erdogan predicts second-round finish of Paul Elliott at ONE Fight Night 48

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Shamil Erdogan predicts second-round finish of Paul Elliott at ONE Fight Night 48

ONE's heavyweight MMA throne sits empty, and an undefeated Turk believes he knows exactly how to claim it. The plan, he says, starts with pulling his next opponent into deep water.

Shamil Erdogan meets Paul “King of the North†Elliott in the heavyweight MMA main event of ONE Fight Night 48 on Prime Video on Friday, October 2. The bout airs live in U.S. primetime from Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.

The 36-year-old is 13-0 as a professional, and his five ONE appearances include two finishes of Aung La N Sang. He moved from middleweight up to heavyweight, stopping Ryugo Takeuchi with first-round ground-and-pound at ONE 173 in Tokyo.

Elliott presents a very different kind of danger. The Englishman enters on the back of a third-round finish of Takeuchi. He also has a six-second head kick knockout of Regan Upshaw.

Erdogan has spent long nights studying tape, and he believes the answer lies in the grappling.

“As far as I know, his wrestling isn't that strong. And as we all know, I am very good at that, and I'll try to neutralize his strengths to beat him. I'll try to show everyone the beauty of this sport,†Erdogan said.

“I'm predicting that this fight will end in the second round. In the first round, I'll drag him into deep water, and in the second round I'll try to finish him.â€

Shamil Erdogan eyes the vacant heavyweight crown

With the ONE Heavyweight MMA World Title currently vacant, Erdogan sees a clear path toward the one achievement missing from his spotless career. A decisive win over a finisher of Elliott's caliber would make his case difficult to ignore.

The Kremost Fight Club and Tiger Muay Thai standout has solved every problem placed in front of him so far. Friday is his chance to prove that pattern holds under the brightest lights yet.

“Becoming a World Champion in ONE Championship [will be] a huge accomplishment, because I think this organization is the best in the world,†Erdogan said.

“I'm focused on winning the belt, and I can't wait for the moment when [ONE Chairman and CEO] Chatri [Sityodtong] puts the belt around my waist.â€

This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM


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MMA

Mikey Musumeci targets UFC flyweight title with MMA transition

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Mikey Musumeci targets UFC flyweight title with MMA transition
Mikey
Musumeci is close to transitioning to mixed martial arts and is
targeting gold in the
Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Musumeci, 30, defeated Bryce
Mitchell at UFC BJJ 11 on Sept. 24 and subsequently revealed
that he plans to make his MMA debut soon. The jiu-jitsu standout
eventually wants to become the UFC's flyweight champion but knows
that remains a distant goal.

Musumeci is developing his striking as he prepares for his MMA
debut

Musumeci is currently focused on developing his striking so that he
can take the fight to the ground without getting knocked out.

“My goal would be to go to the UFC at 125 pounds and win that
belt,†Musumeci told Ariel Helwani. “I have a lot of work to do
before then. That's us seeing super far ahead. One match at a time.
Let's get my level up, let's get me not to get killed standing and
let's get me to the floor. I think people are going to be really
surprised at my level.â€

Musumeci also revealed that he had planned to make his MMA debut
the day after his grappling win over Mitchell. While that matchup
fell through, Musumeci said he is in talks with multiple promotions
about making his MMA debut soon.

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MMA

Marcus McGhee says UFC has ‘pushed me back’ since Petr Yan fight

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Marcus McGhee says UFC has ‘pushed me back’ since Petr Yan fight
Marcus
McGhee believes the biggest fight of his career halted his
momentum.

McGhee (11-2) went undefeated in his first four
Ultimate Fighting Championship outings before taking a massive
step up in competition against Petr Yan last
year. Yan earned a unanimous decision over McGhee and went on to
win the bantamweight title against Merab
Dvalishvili in his next fight.

“The Maniac†claims the promotion has held him back since that
result, but he doesn't know why.

Marcus McGhee questions his UFC matchmaking ahead of UFC
332

McGhee returned to the win column in June against unranked John
Yannis, who is now 1-2 in the UFC. He is scheduled to return at
UFC
332 on Oct. 3 against Bernardo
Sopai.

McGhee admits that he accepted the matchup against Sopai (13-3) to
stay active. He believes the loss to Yan led to the recent decline
in his level of opposition and that the UFC has been pushing him
back since the defeat.

In an interview ahead of his Octagon return, McGhee pointed to
Payton
Talbott co-headlining UFC 332 and Raoni
Barcelos headlining
UFC Vegas 121 on Saturday while questioning the UFC's
matchmaking process.

“Seems like it hindered me,†McGhee told Full Send MMA. “I wouldn't
even say [ranked opponents] are not ready to fight. I just think
that the UFC decides who they want to fight and who they don't want
to fight. Because me and Payton Talbott are both on this card.
Raoni Barcelos fought last week. There's plenty of guys that are
available, but they make their matchups for whatever reason they
make their matchups… But I do feel like they have been pushing me
back since [the Petr Yan] fight. So, I'm gonna keep doing my job,
keep showing up, keep winning these fights.â€

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Ex-IBF champion Lee Selby gets unbeaten test in BKB 61 main event

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Ex-IBF champion Lee Selby gets unbeaten test in BKB 61 main event
Lee “Lightning†Selby will headline BKB 61 against Ollie “The
Death†Sentance on Nov. 14 at Indigo at The O2 in London.

BKB announced the all-British matchup Tuesday, with the former IBF
featherweight champion set to make his second appearance in the
promotion's Trigon. Selby had previously been confirmed for the
event, but his opponent had not been announced.

Lee Selby faces 2-0 bare-knuckle finisher Ollie Sentance in
London

Selby retired from professional boxing in 2022, bringing an end to
a career in which he captured the IBF featherweight championship.
He made his BKB debut at BKB 55 in June, stopping Antonio Rizzo via
second-round TKO.

The 39-year-old Welshman will now make his first BKB appearance in
London, where he will face another undefeated bare-knuckle fighter
in Sentance.

“I'm really looking forward to getting back in the Trigon and
fighting in London again,†Selby said. “Ollie is a tough opponent
and I know he'll be coming to bring a fight, so I'm expecting a
proper battle. It's always special fighting in front of the British
fans and I'm excited to headline BKB 61 and put on a great night
for everyone at The O2.â€

Sentance enters the matchup with a 2-0 bare-knuckle record, with
both victories coming by stoppage. The Kidderminster,
Worcestershire, native made his BKB debut in February, stopping
Nico Earwaker in the fourth round before adding another TKO victory
over Corey Healey at BKB 55.

The 29-year-old competed in several combat sports, including mixed
martial arts and kickboxing, before moving into bare-knuckle
boxing.

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