Kickboxing legend Marat Grigorian is preparing for the biggest fight of his career in the ONE Fight Night 13 headliner on Friday.

The Armenian star will challenge ONE featherweight kickboxing world champion Chingiz Allazov for the divisional throne in a rematch 10 years in the making at the star-studded spectacle, which airs live and free on Prime Video in North American primetime.

Grigorian has amassed a slew of titles among his 66-12-1 professional record, and he feels that he has what it takes to grab this golden opportunity with both hands and defeat Allazov for the second time.

“I’m going for the for the gold. I’m going for the win, and at this point, this opportunity means a lot. I think this is the most important fight of my career so far. I will try to do everything for the win,” he said.

“I trust myself, and I know what I’m able to do. I know I have the power. I know I have the experience. But on this level, it’s very difficult to say, but everything is possible. In half a second, it can be done.”

ONE Championship has a plethora of striking superstars within its roster, across both muay Thai and kickboxing, and many of them sport glorious and well-kept beards.

It has become somewhat of a prerequisite for top kickboxers in the promotion, with Grigorian, Allazov, ONE Fight Night 13 competitor Davit Kiria, and Italian striking legend Giorgio Petrosyan all choosing to rock a similar style of facial hair.

When quizzed on the peculiar phenomenon, Grigorian offered a simple theory about why beards are so prevalent among elite fighters in 2023.

“I don’t know. It’s like preparing for a fight is like getting ready for a war. You’re not thinking of taking care of yourself,” the Hemmers Gym standout said.

“You’re getting prepared for everything. You are getting (ready to be) like an animal, you know? To put it out there. And yeah. It’s not a model show. It’s a bit like Spartan, you know? Something like that.”