Algerian great Mehdi Zatout links up with pound-for-pound kickboxing king Chingiz Allazov in Dubai heading into ONE 166

It comes as a shock to no one that fighters from all over the world take some time out of their day to coordinate workouts with other elite-level fighters in order to keep improving.

That certainly appears to be the case for the legendary Mehdi Zatout.

The Algerian icon is set to make his return to combat sports after a two-year retirement spell as he struts his stuff inside the ONE Circle come March 1 inside the Lusail Sports Arena at ONE 166 as he takes on Zuhayr Al-Qahtani in a catchweight (147 pounds) boxing showdown.

It will be a tough ask for ‘Diamond Heart’ as he will need to overcome a six-year age gap between him and Al-Qahatani, who has been undefeated in his own boxing career over the course of nine bouts.

Zatout shared through his Instagram stories that he has enlisted the help of ONE featherweight kickboxing world champion Chingiz Allazov, who owns a gym in Dubai called Champ Belts by Gridin.

Co-owned with two-sport ONE world champion Roman Kryklia, the state-of-the-art martial arts club has helped the towering Ukrainian in his victory over Alex Roberts this past December for the ONE heavyweight Muay Thai world title.

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Mehdi Zatout relishes chance to fight again

Serving as a coach for the better part of the past two years with his own gym at Venum Training Camp, it was almost inevitable that the call of the ONE Circle would come to his doorstep once again.

For someone who has fought in more than 100 bouts in both Muay Thai and kickboxing, the Algerian star is not one to turn down an opportunity to further cement his legend. and even mentioned that he has always been in fighting shape despite Father Time’s inevitable arrival.

ONE 166 is available live and for free to all Prime Video subscribers in North America.