A source within Chingiz Allazov's camp has informed Beyond Kickboxing that the Azerbaijani-Belarusian kickboxer is planning to terminate his contract with ONE Championship. At the high of his career and standing atop the pound-for-pound rankings, Allazov has opened up about his future plans and reflected on his tenure with ONE.
"I know in ONE, all the best fighters in my division are in ONE. I know ONE is one of the best kickboxing promotions, it’s true… but we don't like the contract about this promotion. I would like to thank ONE Championship. It's not about the money. I beat Sitthichai, and Superbon and became the pound-for-pound best fighter. Marat Grigorian was a tough fight – a fight for my legacy. Now I have another plan. I care about my heart, my legacy, and my dream. I'll finish my career [with] ONE."
The past year has been the most successful in the career of the 30-year-old, knocking out Superbon in January to claim the prestigious ONE Featherweight Kickboxing title, and then avenging his previous loss to Marat Grigorian in his first title defense to further solidify his status as the best fighter in the sport.
While rumors of his retirement swept up after he cleaned out the division with dominant wins over all the top contenders, Allazov assured us that he still has a lot left in the tank, and looks to compete for "3 to 5 more years". Despite touring the world throughout his illustrious career, he now aims to spend the remainder of his time competing in Belarus, Russia, and Azerbaijan.
Whether he will join the ranks of Giorgio Petrosyan and start his own promotion or sign with a local promotion, is not known at this point.
