By:  | October 29, 2022 1:28 pm

Oumar Kane, or ‘Reug Reug’ as he is better known, got back to winning ways at ONE 161. The Senegalese heavyweight star but seems to be feeling confident after his latest victory.

Reug Reug has now won three out of his four ONE Championship fights. Heavyweights have been handed title shots for less and he made it very clear that he has his sights set on the crown.

The 30 year old shared a video of himself busing some moves backstage at the Singapore Indoor Stadium after his win over Batradz Gazzaev at ONE 161. In the caption ‘Reug Reug’ makes it clear that he is ‘coming for the crown’:

 

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A post shared by Reug Reug (@reug_reug1)

Complicated situation

Of course the current situation with regards to the heavyweight title is complicated. Arjan Bhullar holds the regular belt while Anatoly Malykhin is the interim champion and until they finally face off in a unification bout no other contenders are likely to get a look in.

The fight between Bhullar and Malykhin was confirmed for ONE 161 and has been booked and postponed on multiple occasions but looks likely to take place in 2023. While neither of the two champions is likely to be feeling terrified at the prospect of facing ‘Reug Reug’ the African has at least managed an upkick in form.

He put on an extremely disappointing performance at ONE on TNT part IV last year, quitting on his stool at the end of the second round against Kirill Grishenko. ‘Reug Reug’ then pulled out of a fight with Marcus Almeida due to injury and ended up sitting on the sidelines for nearly 18 months.

Title mix

But he put himself back in the title mix with the win over Gazzaev last month. The previously undefeated Russian seemed to run out of steam in the second round and ‘Reug Reug’, who has had stamina issues himself in the past, took full advantage.

While ONE Championship doesn’t publicize the heavyweight rankings there is no chance Gazzaev would feature in them, he was making his promotional debut. What ‘Reug Reug’ needs if he wants a shot against Bhullar or Malykhin is a statement win over a ranked opponent.

With four wins from his four ONE Championship fights Almeida is clearly the #1 contender, behind the two champions. Perhaps that fight will finally get made now that both men are coming off recent wis.