ONE 159: Marat Gafurov’s goal is to make the final run at One Gold

There was a time when Gafurov was the king of a featherweight division. In fact, he defeated Martin Nguyen at the ONE: Odyssey of Champions in September 2015 to claim the One Interim Featherweight World Championship.

Three months later, he defeated his arch-rival Narantunglag Jdamba to become the perfect One Featherweight World Champion. He then successfully defended the title twice before losing to Nguyen at One: Quest for Greatness in August 2017.

Since then, he has had three more competitions in featherweight, including a fight against former One Lightweight World Champion Shinya Aoki. However, Gafurov officially switched to lightweight in 2020 and won one of three fights in the division.

But the 37-year-old Russian warrior is making it to the finals of the One World title while defending One Lightweight World Champion OK Rai Yun at “ONE on TNT III” last April. His second belt search begins at ONE: 159 against Sexton.

Fighting Pride of Dagestan will compete on the lead card of this tournament and face their Costa Rican enemy. The victory of Makhchakala’s top team representative allows him to compete against other promising competitors in the division.

Gafurov is looking for opportunities to use his puppy skills, which has led him to seven wins in the One Championship. But getting Sexton out will not be easy as he also has a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu background. Team Daniel Gracie’s competitor has won four fights in a circle by submission and continues to win two fights.

So, if the match goes on canvas, Gafurov will have to find a way to overtake his opponent. Similarly, he should also put his guard under his belt to face Sexton’s punching power with a knockout victory over The Home of Martial Arts. A convincing victory over Sexton will turn his head and Gafurov will continue his journey to become the two-division One World Champion.

While Gafurov competes on the lead card, the main event of ONE 159 will feature two-division One World Champion Rainier de Reeder, defending the One Middleweight World Championship against Vitaly Bigdash.

In addition, One Atomweight Kickboxing World Champion Janet Todd will be competing with WBC Muay Thai World Champion Lara Fernandez for the title of One Interim Women’s Atamweight Muay Thai World Champion.

Source: Media Publishing