Introduction
Saturday, October 12th, Dagestani welterweight prospect Saygid Arslanaliev will be in action for ONE Championship, where he will try to score gold against Christian Lee. He will be looking for yet another win, as Arslanaliev looks to continue running up the world MMA rankings. He represents Corvos BJJ & MMA, a little-known camp in MMA. Let’s take a closer look at this prospect as this week’s “Prospect Spotlight.”
Strengths
Aggressive Striker: If you watch any Saygid fights, make sure to have your eyes on the fight from the beginning bell. He tends to work quick. Right out of the gates, he takes the center of the cage and goes head hunting. He tracks down his opponent and goes forward with mal intent. He has quick, powerful hands that do damage even when blocked by his opponent. He throws effective leg kicks, which he will go upstairs with when he wants to look for the highlight reel KO (see fight vs. Jian Wen Ma). He can KO you with any appendage. Six of his eight wins come via brutal knockout; all of those come in the 1st round, half in under a minute. His kickboxing background is clearly impressive and the tool he most uses to destroy his opposition.
Sound Grappling: He’s not Robert Drysdale, but Saygid is certainly capable on the mat. He is conscientious about improving his ground game, as he does run with Corvos BJJ. While he relies on striking, he has submission ability, as seen in his two tapout victories under the ONE Championship banner. These subs were a 26-second guillotine choke and a third-round armbar, showing he can catch you early or take you out later in the fight. He has good defensive wrestling and solid offensive grappling, which helps him keep the fight on the feet unless he wants to engage on the mat. Clearly, he’s very well-rounded.
Needs Improvement
Question Marks Past Round 1: Honestly, it’s hard to find weaknesses with Saygid’s game. What’s yet to really be seen is Saygid fight past the 1st round. He has left the 1st round just once. He was successful in finishing that fight, but guys as aggressive as he that put power into everything tend to tire quicker. Aso, he’s yet to go against a world class wrestler. Those wrestlers are known for big gas tanks and grueling paces that are clinch and grappling heavy. Until we see him go through that, there will be some question marks surrounding Saygid in that regard.
Outlook
ONE World Champion/Top-10 World Ranked: Saygid is a fighter that should be held in high regard. He’s a future star that will be a ONE World Champion and a top-10 ranked welterweight in the world. I personally want to see him in the UFC during his prime, as I think he’d be a title contender. Also, he’s just 24 years old. His best years are ahead of him. Plus, consider his only loss was due to a DQ due to an “illegal kick.” That fight saw him dominate his opponent before the unfortunate DQ, which should have been a win. This is a definite guy to watch.
MMA Intel 