Paul Elliott believes a victory over Shamil Erdogan could hand him a shot at a vacant world title that he describes as potentially "life-changing", though he is reluctant to guarantee another headline-grabbing knockout.
The Middlesbrough fighter is due to face Erdogan at ONE Fight Night 48, with the source article stating the bout was pencilled in for Friday, October 2, and billed as a possible eliminator for the vacant ONE heavyweight MMA world title once held by Anatoly Malykhin before his retirement.
However, ONE Championship's own event listings currently place ONE Fight Night 48 at Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok with a live date of Saturday, October 3 at 2:00 AM GMT, and show no fights formally announced for the card at this stage. The official ONE ticketing page similarly lists the event with TBD versus TBD, meaning Elliott's clash with Erdogan has not yet been confirmed through ONE's own channels despite the fighter discussing it in detail.
Elliott arrives with an 8-2 record, every one of his wins coming by knockout, and he wrote himself into the promotion's history books in June when he matched the fastest finish in ONE history by stopping Regan Upshaw in just six seconds.
"I'm probably going to struggle to match that I think," Elliott told Sky Sports. "Don't get me wrong, as soon as the bell goes, I do try to finish fights - I'm known for doing that."
"But he's obviously aware of that now, so he's probably going to keep himself in a defensive position past 10 seconds at least."
The 34-year-old has strung together four straight wins, but he is bracing for arguably his toughest test yet against Erdogan, who is two years older, was born in Russia and now fights under the Turkish flag. According to ONE's current fighter listings, Erdogan holds an unbeaten 13-0 record in MMA, with his most recent recorded bout for the promotion coming in 2025.
"I think it's going to be a great fight," Elliott said. "He's super skilful, I'm super skilful."
"Because he's quite well-rounded, I think it will probably go past round one."
"He's pretty resilient, so although I'm very explosive and fast, he's technically sound. It might be a bit of a chess match."
"He's probably going to try and wrestle me. I could be wrong, but I think that's what he's going to try and do."
Elliott went on to stress how finely balanced a heavyweight contest can be, no matter how the styles match up on paper.
"At heavyweight, we all know one shot can change it."
"We'll both be super switched on and I think it will probably be a razor-thin win for one of us."
"I don't think it's going to be a draw, I don't think it's going to go the distance."
"I think one of us is going to leave with our hand raised and it's going to be before the final bell."
"I believe that whoever wins this will get a title shot."
Elliott named Canada's Ben Tynan as "the only name that probably springs to mind" for a potential world title fight should he see off Erdogan and move into contention for the vacant heavyweight strap.
Why the heavyweight title is vacant
The belt became available after Anatoly Malykhin walked away from the sport. According to MMA Sucka, Malykhin retired on May 15, 2026 after having regained the ONE heavyweight title, a move that left the division without a champion. That timeline is echoed by Wikipedia's list of ONE Championship champions, which also records the title as vacated following Malykhin's May 15, 2026 retirement announcement.
Elliott is well aware of what winning that vacant belt would mean for his career and his life away from the cage.
"It would be a huge achievement to fight for a title, let alone win one," he said. "It would massively change my life."
"Fighting for One Championship alone has definitely elevated my life, it's a great thing."
"It has definitely put me on the map in the world of fighting. Even with the casual fans; I'm getting noticed a lot more now, which is cool."
"But to be world champion, that's going to go down in history. It's the pinnacle."
"Quite frankly, if I can do that it will be the best thing I've ever done in my life."
What else is on the ONE Fight Night 48 card?
The bill is also expected to feature a significant Muay Thai contest between Luke Lessei and Charlie Guest, with the winner potentially in line for a crack at Nico Carrillo's featherweight belt.
Guest, also English, carries a 38-15 record and made his promotional debut in June by beating Sam Fitzgerald via second-round TKO. American opponent Lessei is 9-3 and is coming off a July win over Mohamed Younes Rabah.
What happens next
Per ONE's official broadcast listings, ONE Fight Night 48 remains scheduled for Saturday, October 3 at 2:00 AM GMT from Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, though the promotion's own tickets page still shows no bout pairings confirmed as of now. Fans will need to wait for ONE to formally announce the fight card before Elliott's proposed clash with Erdogan, and the wider heavyweight title picture, can be locked in.
