Shamil Erdogan and Paul Elliott collide in a heavyweight MMA main event at ONE Fight Night 48, live in U.S. primetime from Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok on Friday, October 2, with a path toward the vacant ONE Heavyweight MMA World Title on the line for the winner.
ONE lists Erdogan, the undefeated Turkish powerhouse, as a Dagestan-born southpaw out of Kremost Fight Club and Tiger Muay Thai. He enters 13-0, with all five of his ONE wins by finish and an average fight time inside the promotion of just two minutes and 34 seconds. His promotional résumé includes wins over Aung La N Sang, Gilberto Galvao, and a first-round ground-and-pound finish of Ryugo Takeuchi at ONE 173 in Tokyo.
“I’m focused on winning the belt, and I can’t wait for the moment when Chatri puts the belt around my waist,” Erdogan told ONE, naming chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong. He called Elliott tough on the feet and pointed to the Brit’s six-second head-kick knockout of Regan Upshaw as one of the fastest finishes in ONE history — “the danger coming from his legs.”
Elliott, the 34-year-old from TFT MMA billed as “King of the North,” carries an 8-2 (1 NC) record with every professional win by finish. After a rough start in ONE, he has answered with back-to-back knockouts of Takeuchi and Upshaw, the latter in six seconds at ONE Fight Night 44 in June. “He’s human. He bleeds,” Elliott told ONE. “Can I knock him out? If I land, I know I can knock him out.”
In the co-main event, American Luke “The Chef” Lessei meets England’s Charlie Guest in featherweight Muay Thai, with both men looking to stake a claim toward Nico Carrillo’s ONE Featherweight Muay Thai World Title. Lessei took a unanimous decision over Mohamed Younes Rabah in the ONE Fight Night 45 main event in July. Guest opened his ONE account with a second-round TKO of Sam Fitzgerald at Fight Night 44 — via the three-knockdown rule, ONE’s preview notes — and now steps up in the co-main.
The rest of the nine-bout card spans Muay Thai, MMA, kickboxing, and submission grappling. Nakrob Fairtex meets Parham Gheirati in bantamweight Muay Thai. Joshua Perreira faces Antonio Cesar in flyweight MMA. Yi Yuxuan takes on Elbrus Osmanov in bantamweight kickboxing. Lee Seung Cheol meets Karen Ghazaryan in strawweight MMA. Shoya Ishiguro and Ruan Alvarenga meet in featherweight submission grappling. Yu Yau Pui faces Marie McManamon in atomweight Muay Thai. Arian Esparza closes the undercard list opposite New Zealand’s Sam Fitzgerald in featherweight Muay Thai.
ONE Fight Night 48 card
- Shamil Erdogan vs. Paul Elliott — heavyweight MMA (main event)
- Luke Lessei vs. Charlie Guest — featherweight Muay Thai (co-main)
- Nakrob Fairtex vs. Parham Gheirati — bantamweight Muay Thai
- Joshua Perreira vs. Antonio Cesar — flyweight MMA
- Yi Yuxuan vs. Elbrus Osmanov — bantamweight kickboxing
- Lee Seung Cheol vs. Karen Ghazaryan — strawweight MMA
- Shoya Ishiguro vs. Ruan Alvarenga — featherweight submission grappling
- Yu Yau Pui vs. Marie McManamon — atomweight Muay Thai
- Arian Esparza vs. Sam Fitzgerald — featherweight Muay Thai
American and Canadian fans can watch live and free on Prime Video with an Amazon Prime membership at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT on Friday, October 2. ONE also lists global availability via watch.onefc.com, its Facebook page, and YouTube (geo-restrictions apply), with the Bangkok start at 8 a.m. ICT on Saturday, October 3. In New Zealand, ONE lists ESPN at 1 p.m. NZDT on Saturday, October 3. The broadcast reaches more than 195 countries and territories.
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