Rivalries: Kairat Akhmetov

Kairat Akhmetov acquired a taste for life at the top during a 625-day reign as undisputed One Championship flyweight titleholder. Now, he has made it a mission to reclaim what was once his.

The 34-year-old Akhmetov will carry a 24-2 record into his pivotal showdown with Danny Kingad in the One Championship “Winter Warriors 2” main event on Friday at Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang, Singapore. The organization has publicly promoted the match as a title eliminator at 135 pounds. Akhmetov enters the cage with the wind of a three-fight winning streak in his sails. The Tiger Muay Thai rep last competed at One Championship “Collision Course 2,” where he took a unanimous decision from Dae Hwan Kim on Dec. 18, 2020.

As Akhmetov makes final preparations ahead of his battle with Kingad, a look at some of the rivalries that have helped shape his career to this point:

Adriano Moraes

Akhmetov entered his One Championship debut at “Dynasty of Champions 4” with a perfect 19-0 record and exited the cage as the promotion’s undisputed flyweight champion after he eked out a contentious split decision over Moraes on Nov. 21, 2015. The Brazilian outstruck Akhmetov across a majority of their 25-minute confrontation at the Olympic Sports Center Gymnasium in Beijing, utilizing an active kicking game and a punishing jab that was enhanced by a discernible reach advantage. It was not enough to sway the judges entirely. Akhmetov controlled the center of the cage from his southpaw stance, leaned in with a few left hands and incorporated takedowns in the second, third and fifth rounds. Though his efforts resulted in far more positional dominance than damage, “The Kazakh” was handed a victory on two of the three scorecards in a decision most considered highly debatable. Moraes provided his response in their rematch a little less than two years later, when he took a unanimous decision from the Kazakhstani grappler in the “Kings & Conquerors” co-feature. The Brazilian carved up Akhmetov with crisp standup for the better part of 25 minutes and punctuated his triumph with a late takedown.

Geje Eustaquio

The Lakay MMA export laid claim to the interim One Championship flyweight crown with a five-round unanimous decision over Akhmetov in the “Global Superheroes” headliner on Jan. 26, 2018 at the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila, Philippines. All three judges sided with Eustaquio, who had ended up on the wrong side of a split verdict against “The Kazakh” four months prior. Stellar takedown defense, an active submission game and a kick-heavy standup attack carried Eustaquio in the rematch. He routinely cut off Akhmetov’s bids for takedowns and threatened his limbs and neck, making passes at a kneebar in the first round and guillotine choke in the fourth. Eustaquio continued to target his adversary’s legs, body and arms with kicks, slowly but surely wearing down the Tiger Muay Thai standout with his persistence. Akhmetov launched a last-gasp effort in Round 5, and it was significant: He executed a takedown and cut loose with ground-and-pound in attempt to turn the tide and generate a finish. However, Eustaquio withstood his assault, bled the remaining time off the clock and let the scorecards have the final say.

Reece McLaren

Akhmetov outstruck the former Eternal MMA titleholder to a unanimous decision in their flyweight grand prix quarterfinal at One Championship “A New Era” on March 31, 2019 at Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo. Though a broken hand forced “The Kazakh” to withdraw from the tournament, he revealed afterward that he planned to retire had he not beaten McLaren. Akhmetov dictated the terms of their engagement with crisp counterpunching and merciless forward pressure. He floored McLaren with a left hook in the first round, where he also executed his lone takedown after picking the Aussie out of the sky on a failed attempt at a flying knee. Akmetov appeared to have victory in hand entering Round 3 but kept his foot on the accelerator continued to pile up points with punches. He strung together an exquisite burst of right hands inside the first minute, forced McLaren into an almost perpetual backpedal and denied two takedown attempts in the latter half of the round