{"id":112018,"date":"2025-09-01T14:34:08","date_gmt":"2025-09-01T14:34:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/112018\/"},"modified":"2025-09-01T14:34:08","modified_gmt":"2025-09-01T14:34:08","slug":"im-not-going-to-play-by-his-rules","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/112018\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018I\u2019m Not Going To Play By His Rules\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Russian star Ibragim Dauev<\/a> is fired up to take on the toughest test of his career when he squares off against undefeated Akbar \u201cBakal\u201d Abdullaev<\/a> in a high-stakes featherweight MMA showdown.<\/p>\n

The 24-year-old meets the division\u2019s #1-ranked contender at ONE Fight Night 35: Buntan vs. Hemetsberger on Prime Video<\/a>, which emanates live in U.S. primetime on Friday, September 5 from Bangkok\u2019s legendary Lumpinee Stadium.<\/p>\n

Overcoming Abdullaev, who also holds an astonishing 100 percent finishing rate, is certainly a tall order. The unbeaten Kyrgyzstani has consistently impressed with every performance, and has established himself as one of the most dangerous fighters in ONE Championship.<\/p>\n

But Dauev has done his homework, and while he admits to the inherent risks of facing Abdullaev, he doesn\u2019t plan on giving his opponent any breathing room.<\/p>\n

The Russian star believes that in order to neutralize the Kyrgyzstani\u2019s finishing ability, he must instead be aggressive and force his own game plan into effect:<\/p>\n

\u201cI watched Akbar\u2019s fights and studied his style. His weaknesses are unknown to me, but I know my strengths very well, and I intend to use them and impose my game.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe main lesson for me is not to take a heavy shot. But, like him, I also know how to finish fights early. I\u2019m not going to play by his rules \u2014 I will impose my game and do everything so that the fight goes exactly as I want.\u201d<\/p>\n

When Dauev and Abdullaev meet on Friday, two prime featherweights at the top of their game will face off. Both bring impressive winning streaks into the ring.<\/p>\n

Dauev heads into this battle with a perfect 3-0 promotional record, including back-to-back victories over previously undefeated talents Magomed Akaev<\/a> and Pedro \u201cGuerreiro\u201d Dantas<\/a> this year.<\/p>\n

Abdullaev, meanwhile, is 4-0 in the world\u2019s largest martial arts organization and is fresh off a big win over ONE Featherweight MMA World Champion Tang Kai<\/a> in his last outing.<\/p>\n

That being said, Dauev remains unfazed at the gargantuan task before him. The Russian looks to score another major upset against another opponent with a perfect record, and take Abdullaev\u2019s #1 ranking in the division for himself.<\/p>\n

He told onefc.com<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\u201cAkbar has 12 fights and 12 finishes. But this doesn\u2019t worry me, and I don\u2019t think about it at all. I\u2019m ready to fight anyone and beat anyone. This is MMA \u2014 anything can happen here, and this fight won\u2019t be an exception.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dauev Believes World Championship Dreams Are Within Reach<\/p>\n

Like every fighter on the roster, Ibragim Dauev dreams of becoming a ONE World Champion. With three massive wins on his resume, the Russian star is getting very close to the gold.<\/p>\n

If he can take home the victory over Akbar Abdullaev at ONE Fight Night 35: Buntan vs. Hemetsberger on Prime Video, the 24-year-old standout believes he has a legitimate chance at earning his first shot at the ONE Featherweight MMA World Title.<\/p>\n

The Fight Club Akhmat and One Chance athlete shared:<\/p>\n

\u201cThis fight is very important for me because a victory will open up the opportunity for me to fight for the belt.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know for sure that the winner of our fight deserves a title fight. I deserve this chance because [if I beat Abdullaev], that means my last three opponents were undefeated, and I also beat the number one in our division.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fans will be treated to an absolute spectacle when two of ONE\u2019s most talented featherweights finally lock horns.<\/p>\n

While Dauev is confident his well-rounded style will be enough to overcome Abdullaev\u2019s high-octane offense, the Russian star also knows he has to give it everything he\u2019s got and leave it all in the ring.<\/p>\n

It won\u2019t be easy, but the 24-year-old is confident he has what it takes. He\u2019s ready to execute his game plan to perfection and take out his most challenging assignment yet:<\/p>\n

\u201cAkbar is a good and dangerous fighter, but I\u2019m completely ready. I won\u2019t make predictions, but I will do everything to win at any cost.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI am always confident in myself and consider myself the best, no matter who they put me against. There is no fighter who cannot be defeated.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Russian star Ibragim Dauev is fired up to take on the toughest test of his career when he…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":112019,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[444],"tags":[49,48,641,638,82],"class_list":["post-112018","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mma","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-fighting","tag-mma","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112018","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=112018"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112018\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/112019"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=112018"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=112018"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=112018"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}