Having earned a spot in the top five Lightweight MMA ranks, Khalil “No Mercy” Amir is ready to shake up the Featherweight MMA division when he returns to US prime time on Friday, May 3rd.
The Turkish sensation will face Akbar “Bakar” Abdullaev in a clash of undefeated striking specialists at ONE Fight Night 22: Sander vs. Diáčková on Prime Video, but he is a Lumphini boxing sensation. -I feel better than ever before the important match at the stadium. Bangkok, Thailand.
Amir has knocked out eight of his opponents on his way to a perfect 10-0 record, adding two of his three wins in ONE's lightweight division to that record. And he believes this move will make his arsenal even stronger.
This could be key against Abdullaev, who is also 10-0 with 90 percent of his wins coming by knockout.
'No Mercy' told onefc.com about the matchup:
“I’m not a lightweight, but I think I’m faster and stronger in this weight class.
“My opponent Akbar is a good fighter. He has explosive kicks and is a typical kickboxer. His strength is obvious, it is striking technique.”
Given that 19 of the 20 total wins between the two have come within the distance, statistics show that a finish is the most likely outcome of this hard-fought showdown.
But Amir has no intention of changing his game to accommodate Abdullaev's threat. Instead, he sticks to what he knows and is always looking for ways to deploy Kyrgyzstan's standout players.
“I don't have any particular plans for him. I'm going to get in the ring and move forward as usual.
“My goal is to finish him. If I don't succeed, I will do everything in my power to get the referee to raise his hand.
“After I win, I want to fight for the belt or fight someone in the top five in the rankings.”
Khalil Amir opens up about training session with MMA legend Khabib Nurmagomedov
Khalil Amir has been doing everything he can to win in the MMA featherweight ranks, and that includes training with some of the best fighters of all time.
“No Mercy” traveled to Dagestan to prepare under the guidance of legendary competitor Khabib Nurmagomedov and benefited from the occasion alongside the retired MMA world champion.
A striker by nature, Amir was keen to improve other areas of his skill set while learning from one of the sport's most potent grapplers.
The 29-year-old said:
“Khabib has had some training sessions. For me, it was a very good experience. He has undergone rigorous training at school.
“Khabib is always very disciplined during training. Naturally, the work was focused on wrestling and grappling.
“As a person, he is a very simple person. He often immerses himself in training and helps the team, and of course he encouraged me during training sessions.”
