Shamil Gasanov comes into his ONE Championship debut on the back of an impressive record. But one man definitely isn’t impressed and that is his upcoming opponent Kim Wae Joong.
The Korean has been handed the task of welcoming Gasanov to the promotion at ONE on Prime Video 3. He doesn’t think this task will be quite as difficult as some people are making out,
“To be brutally honest, he never fought anyone legit. He fought a bunch of nobodies. He fought BJJ white belts who don’t even know how to move on the ground,” he told ONEFC.com.
View this post on Instagram
Kill or be killed
Woong likes to fight on the edge and this ‘kill or be killed’ ethos lead him to the brink of a title shot. But he was handed a harsh lesson by Tang Kai at at ONE ‘X’ with the future featherweight champion stopping him in the first round.
He remains the #2 ranked featherweight and says he learned from that loss,
“I have to be more patient. I always tell myself that, but I went for the kill again. I knew that might put me in danger, but I was greedy about it. So I will make sure I’m more calm and patient,” he said.
After back to back ONE Championship wins it was a major setback and Woong admits it took him a while to come to terms with that defeat,
“I was very worried about my future and my next step forward but I learned so much (from the loss) and I believe that I improved a lot,’ he said.
View this post on Instagram
Amazing record
While Woong is scathing about the level of Gasanov’s opposition he admits that the Russian is a ‘great fighter’,
“(His) undefeated record is amazing. I know that is something very hard to do. And he has great finish rates also. So I respect him, and I think he’s a great fighter.”
Woong’s biggest claim to fame is a knockout win over Martin Nguyen at ONE: ‘Revolution’ last year. Having finished one of the hardest hitters in the division he doesn’t think Gasanov has any intention of trading punches with him,
“I think his striking is his weakness and he covers that weakness with his wrestling. I’m a complete MMA fighter, I believe I’m well balanced.”
View this post on Instagram
Higher standard
Woong feels that the standard of opposition he has been facing with ONE Championship is significantly higher than the fighters Gasanov has been testing his mettle against on the Russian scene,
“ONE is another level, and I’m planning to show him that he has to be well-balanced to survive here. You can’t be a one-trick pony.”
It sounds like Woong is ready to wrestle with the Russian if he needs to. The Korean has won fights by submission and ground and pound and wants to show Gasanov that he is superior in every department,
“I’ll fight you anywhere and show that ONE is on another level.”
