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Amir Aliakbari is riding high after the biggest win of his MMA career.
Aliakbari, a former Greco-Roman wrestling world champion, had some hype coming into ONE Championship before losing his first two fights via first-round stoppage. He bounced back earlier this year with his first promotional win and then secured a massive victory against former ONE heavyweight world champion Brandon Vera at ONE 164.
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Amir Aliakbari had this to say at his ONE 164 post-fight interview:
“Anywhere. Anytime… I’m on a redemption road right now. If I’m not going to fight Arjan Bhullar, no problem. I’ll take him. But I’d like to take my first loss back and Malykhin can catch it next.”
Aliakbari lost to Malykhin in his second fight with ONE Championship via a first-round knockout. ‘Sladkiy’ has since become the interim heavyweight champion and is now the light heavyweight champion after dethroning Reinier de Ridder. The Russian will likely fight Arjan Bhullar next, so the Iranian grappler might need another win to earn a rematch.
Watch Amir Aliakbari's ONE 164 post-fight interview below:
Amir Aliakbari reflects on his 0-2 start with ONE Championship
Amir Aliakbari’s ONE Championship tenure started with two brutal defeats. Kang Ji Won knocked him out in the first round, and Anatoly Malykhin did the same six months later. During the same ONE 164 post-event media interview, the former Greco-Roman world champion had this to say about his early struggles with ONE:
“Many people don’t know that during the time of COVID, I had eight fights canceled. I came to Singapore numerous times and had to fly back without fights because the fight would get canceled and the venue would get canceled. I went through a lot of difficulties, but that’s all in the past now. Right now, I’m ready to go and right the wrongs.”
Aliakbari wasn’t just a former wrestling world champion when he joined ONE. The Iranian fought in RIZIN, where he beat Heath Herring and Valentin Moldavsky in the 2016 World Grand Prix before losing to Mirko ‘Cro Cop’ Filipovic in the finals. Now that he’s found his footing with ONE, it’ll be intriguing to see if the 34-year-old can make a run for the heavyweight title.
