Swiss MMA lightweight star Maurice Abevi recently sat down with Cristian Alvarez of Low Kick MMA to discuss his upcoming fight against former title challenger Alibeg Rasulov at ONE Fight Night 32. The Swiss sensation is enjoying his rest and recovery as he spoke with us, preparing to take on the highly touted Rasulov.
When Maurice Abevi was asked about how different life is for him as a fighter, and how much he has changed from fighting on the European scene.
“When I fought in Europe, I was […] super hungry to show that I can be one. And I was excited and I was overtraining and, you know, and I was just unexperienced, but I was kind of hungry and I love the game […]. Now that I’m in One, and I’m like an established fighter you can actually take serious, I’m way more comfortable in this situation now. But at the same time, I […] got better at getting better and I know a lot of risks and I know a lot of mistakes people do and I’m just more, just calmer in general about my whole career […]. I’m not as emotional anymore and I think that made me more professional and made me like a champion now […]. I’m way more of a champion now. Not as much like real professional, real dialed in and with the team and everything, you know? I’m established as a fighter. As a professional fighter, you know, a real professional fighter now.”
Maurice Abevi was riding a six-fight win streak with all finishes on the European regional scene before signing to ONE Championship, where in his debut fight, he would face dangerous Turkish fighter Hamil Amir, who would hand Abevi his first loss in his career. Knock the young fighter down and put him in a brutal Suloev stretch submission that Maurice Abevi barely managed to survive. When asked about this rough debut on the ONE Championship stage, Abevi responded with a humble look back at his loss.
“I came into the fight super confident because I was beating everybody up to that point and I knew I could beat this guy up. I knew it. […] But now it’s done. […] I was just devastated and I was a little bit, I was heartbroken and I was a little bit […] ashamed […] because that was not the performance that I wanted to bring […]. I was too anxious at the night and I was too emotional at the night and then I could have had a much, way better performance. But that hurt a lot, you know, because I knew I could win this fight. But then it just motivated me even more […]. Motivated me more and motivated me to stay calm and to grow and to change my game and change my mindset. And now I’m […] back to winning.”
Maurice would then go on to discuss how this loss changed his entire outlook on MMA and how it transformed him into the top MMA fighter he is now, with a 3-1 record in ONE.
“When I had my ONE debut, I didn’t really have a real team. I did everything myself and I was more an amateur […]. After this loss, I knew I was way too emotional in this fight and that led me to more mindfulness and meditation and being in the moment […]. And I think being in the moment during the fight is how I can bring my best performance […]. And also my time with my team, you know, my team Ben Royal, my grappling coach, and Benoit Day, my striking coach. They are really wizards and they, um, I appreciate them so bad. And I’m so good right now because they teach me all this stuff […]. So, it’s my team and like my strong realization of mindfulness and being in the moment.”
When asked about a potential matchup with the current lightweight champion Christian Lee, who is coming off a no-contest performance against Alibeg Rasulov, Maurice Abevi chose not to look too far into the future and focus on the task at hand.
“I think Christian Lee is the double champion right now […]. And he fought in the welterweight division and also in the lightweight division. […] I know how good I am and I know that I can beat him […]. Whatever if ONE says I’m ready, I’m going to be ready […]. But if ONE says I need to do another fight, then I’ll do another fight […]. I just want to get better and improve my skills and put on the best performances I can.
Maurice Abevi has a chance to put himself in the title picture should he beat Rasulov.
The surprising talent of Maurice Abevi has been on full display since his sole loss against Amir. Now, Maurice Abevi has a real chance to challenge the dominant face of ONE’s MMA wing, Christian Lee, the head of the Lee dynasty in MMA. Or he may find himself face to face against fellow lightweight Lucas Gabriel, who himself has a stake to claim for a shot against the American MMA monster in Lee. The future of the lightweight division in ONE is uncertain, but Maurice Abevi aims to make his claim on June 9th.
