Maurice Abevi hopes to bring all of his skills together and deliver a life-changing performance at ONE 168: Denver.
The 24-year-old Swiss star has already put in some impressive performances in the world’s largest combat sports organization, but he can’t wait to demonstrate his full potential in front of a U.S. audience on Friday, September 6.
After two consecutive wins in ONE, Abevi will face undefeated Kazakhstani phenom Samat Mamedov in a lightweight MMA showdown and he plans to leave his name in the memory of the fans at Ball Arena.
He told onefc.com:
“I think I was really in top shape before the last fight, but in the fight itself I felt like I wasn’t able to show everything I was capable of. So I’m really motivated to bring this next performance to the circle.
“It’s exciting and I feel like it’s a sign that ONE values me by fighting in the US now. I appreciate that from them too.
“They want me to deliver and I want to deliver. I will do everything I can to deliver that day.”
In his debut, Abevi fell to Halil Amir in a thrilling three-round fight. Since then, he has won two straight fights against Blake Cooper and Zhang Lipeng.
However, the 24-year-old believes he is only just scratching the surface of his abilities and after a solid training camp, he is ready to show even more against his debut opponent:
“I feel like I’m going to show all my skills in this fight. In ONE so far, I’ve been able to show some of what I can do, but I’ve never been able to showcase my full arsenal.
“I feel like I can really use my whole arsenal in this fight and show some new things, even more spinning kicks.”
Abevi plans to outlast and knock out Mamedov at ONE 168
Maurice Abevi knows he won’t have an easy night against Samat Mamedov at ONE 168: Denver.
The Kazakh is making his first appearance at ONE and has a flawless MMA record of 10-0. Nine of those wins have come inside the distance – all in the first round.
Mamedov is clearly an aggressive fighter who wants to take out his opponents. Knowing this, Abevi is ready for a fierce fight when the first bell rings in Denver:
“Mamedov is a good wrestler and an aggressive guy. I think he is a good opponent.”
“I think he’s super dangerous. He’s finished almost all of his fights. His opponents weren’t really top-notch, but he knocked them all out in the first round, and that has to mean something.
“I have a lot of respect for him as a fighter. I think he will give me a real challenge.”
Rather than being unsettled by the threat in front of him, Abevi views Mamedov’s penchant for coming out of the starting blocks as a stylistically good opponent.
Ready to play matador against bull, the Zurich native believes his own style is ideal for dealing with his opponent’s offense. He plans to ride out the first wave and take the Kazakhstani into deeper waters – where the chance for a knockout could arise.
Abevi added:
“It’s good for me that he comes out fast because I like to move a lot. I like to stay at a distance. I think I can make him swing a lot and punch in the air and try to land bad takedowns because he doesn’t have that much experience against high-level fighters.
“He’ll get tired if he’s used to finishing people off quickly. I’ll use my jab, use my footwork, weather the storm in the first and then take over in the second and third.
“I’m just going to punch and move. I’m going to kick his legs and body, punch him to the body, counter him when he swings in the air and then knock him out with the flying knee in the second round.”
