ONE Championship

Shamil Erdogan headlines the heavyweight MMA main event of ONE Fight Night 48 against Paul Elliott, broadcasting live in US primetime from Bangkok’s Lumpinee Stadium on Friday, October 2. Erdogan carries a perfect 13-0 record into the bout. All five of his ONE Championship wins ending by finish. Moreover, he has an average fight time of just two minutes and 34 seconds.

The Dagestan-born wrestler has built that finishing rate against elite competition. He has stoppages over Aung La N Sang, Gilberto Galvao, and most recently Ryugo Takeuchi. Each result strengthened his case for a shot at the vacant ONE Heavyweight MMA World Title.

Paul Elliott’s knockout streak complicates the picture against Shamil Erdogan

Paul Elliott brings his own case for that same title shot. A stretch of knockout wins turned his ONE Championship tenure around. His most recent victory, a six-second head-kick finish of Regan Upshaw at ONE Fight Night 44 this past June, ranks among the fastest finishes in promotional history.

The 34-year-old Briton’s 8-2 record, with one no-contest, includes a finish in every professional win. That gives him a puncher’s chance against an opponent with a considerable experience edge. A decisive result for either man on October 2 could go a long way toward settling who gets the next crack at heavyweight gold.

Neither man has fought for a ONE Championship World Title before. That makes this matchup a rare opportunity for both to leapfrog directly into World Title contention with a single statement win in front of a US primetime audience.

This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM