Elliott eyes 'life-changing' ONE title shot in Erdogan clash on Sky Sports
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Original post · 19 Aug
The kid from Middlesbrough who scored one of the quickest knockouts the sport has ever seen is now talking about a world title - and he reckons winning one would be the best thing he's ever done.
Paul Elliott faces Shamil Erdogan at ONE Fight Night 48 on Friday, October 2, live on Sky Sports, with the winner potentially in line for a crack at the vacant ONE heavyweight MMA belt. That title has been sitting empty since Anatoly Malykhin retired. For Elliott, getting his hands on it would, in his words, "massively change my life."
The six-second man
Elliott carries an 8-2 record into this one, and here's the eye-catching bit: all eight of his wins have come by knockout. In June he tied the fastest knockout in ONE history, flattening Regan Upshaw with a head kick after just six seconds.
Don't expect a repeat, though. The 34-year-old is realistic about matching that again. "I'm probably going to struggle to match that I think," he told Sky Sports. "But he's obviously aware of that now, so he's probably going to keep himself in a defensive position past 10 seconds at least."
A chess match at heavyweight
Erdogan, two years Elliott's senior, was born in Russia and now represents Turkey. Elliott has won his last four in a row, but he's calling this his toughest test yet - and he expects a technical scrap rather than a blowout.
"He's super skilful, I'm super skilful," Elliott said. "Because he's quite well-rounded, I think it will probably go past round one... It might be a bit of a chess match. He's probably going to try and wrestle me."
That said, he's not backing a decision. "At heavyweight, we all know one shot can change it," he said. "I don't think it's going to be a draw, I don't think it's going to go the distance... it's going to be before the final bell." So if you're eyeing method-of-victory or round markets, that's a fighter openly predicting a finish - by one of them.
The title picture
Elliott believes the winner earns a title shot, and he already has a name in mind for that vacant belt. He pointed to Canada's Ben Tynan as "the only name that probably springs to mind" as a potential opponent.
He's clear-eyed about what a title would mean. "It would be a huge achievement to fight for a title, let alone win one," he said. "Fighting for ONE Championship alone has definitely elevated my life... Even with the casual fans, I'm getting noticed a lot more now. But to be world champion, that's going to go down in history. It's the pinnacle."
Also on the card
The night has a second British angle worth watching. Luke Lessei takes on Charlie Guest in a Muay Thai bout that matters for the featherweight title picture - the winner could push for a shot at Nico Carrillo's belt.
Guest is English and holds a 38-15 record. He made his ONE debut in June, beating Sam Fitzgerald by second-round TKO. American Lessei is 9-3 and comes in off a July win over Mohamed Younes Rabah.
The whole card airs on Sky Sports on October 2.
Sources:
Worth keeping an eye on how this lands - there's an ongoing discussion of UK casino sites on the forum.
Paul Elliott faces Shamil Erdogan at ONE Fight Night 48 on Friday, October 2, live on Sky Sports, with the winner potentially in line for a crack at the vacant ONE heavyweight MMA belt. That title has been sitting empty since Anatoly Malykhin retired. For Elliott, getting his hands on it would, in his words, "massively change my life."
The six-second man
Elliott carries an 8-2 record into this one, and here's the eye-catching bit: all eight of his wins have come by knockout. In June he tied the fastest knockout in ONE history, flattening Regan Upshaw with a head kick after just six seconds.
Don't expect a repeat, though. The 34-year-old is realistic about matching that again. "I'm probably going to struggle to match that I think," he told Sky Sports. "But he's obviously aware of that now, so he's probably going to keep himself in a defensive position past 10 seconds at least."
A chess match at heavyweight
Erdogan, two years Elliott's senior, was born in Russia and now represents Turkey. Elliott has won his last four in a row, but he's calling this his toughest test yet - and he expects a technical scrap rather than a blowout.
"He's super skilful, I'm super skilful," Elliott said. "Because he's quite well-rounded, I think it will probably go past round one... It might be a bit of a chess match. He's probably going to try and wrestle me."
That said, he's not backing a decision. "At heavyweight, we all know one shot can change it," he said. "I don't think it's going to be a draw, I don't think it's going to go the distance... it's going to be before the final bell." So if you're eyeing method-of-victory or round markets, that's a fighter openly predicting a finish - by one of them.
The title picture
Elliott believes the winner earns a title shot, and he already has a name in mind for that vacant belt. He pointed to Canada's Ben Tynan as "the only name that probably springs to mind" as a potential opponent.
He's clear-eyed about what a title would mean. "It would be a huge achievement to fight for a title, let alone win one," he said. "Fighting for ONE Championship alone has definitely elevated my life... Even with the casual fans, I'm getting noticed a lot more now. But to be world champion, that's going to go down in history. It's the pinnacle."
Also on the card
The night has a second British angle worth watching. Luke Lessei takes on Charlie Guest in a Muay Thai bout that matters for the featherweight title picture - the winner could push for a shot at Nico Carrillo's belt.
Guest is English and holds a 38-15 record. He made his ONE debut in June, beating Sam Fitzgerald by second-round TKO. American Lessei is 9-3 and comes in off a July win over Mohamed Younes Rabah.
The whole card airs on Sky Sports on October 2.
Sources:
Worth keeping an eye on how this lands - there's an ongoing discussion of UK casino sites on the forum.
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