“I’m on a redemption run” - Amir Aliakbari eyes massive rematches against Kang Ji Won, Anatoly Malykhin after ONE 166

Amir Aliakbari is ready to bring his winning streak to an entirely new level.

The Iranian juggernaut is riding a dominant three-fight winning streak, and he could extend that mark when he takes on Arjan Bhullar at ONE 166 this Friday at Lusail Sports Arena in Qatar.

Aliakbari, though, is already looking beyond his fight against the former ONE heavyweight MMA world champion.

At the ONE 166 press conference, Amir Aliakbari told ONE Championship CEO Chatri Sityodtong of his desire to take revenge against the two men who beat him before in the promotion.

“I’m on a redemption run right now, I have a request to Chatri. I wanna make amends to make my mistakes, my losses. I wanna take on Kang Ji Won, and I wanna take on Anatoly [Malykhin]. That’s what’s ahead of me.”

Aliakbari had a rough start to his ONE Championship tenure when he lost against Kang and Malykhin in 2021. The former UWW Greco-Roman Wrestling world champion, however, bounced back in epic fashion.

Aliakbari racked up three straight knockout wins over Mauro Cerilli, former ONE heavyweight MMA world champion Brandon Vera, and Dustin Joynson.

He now has a chance to capture a fourth straight win when he takes on Bhullar in ONE Championship’s first on-site event in Qatar.

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Amir Aliakbari completely shrugs off Arjan Bhullar

Aggression has always been part of Amir Aliakbari’s fighting style, and it even extends to his underrated mic work.

In an interview with ONE Championship, Aliakbari completely shrugged off any threat Bhullar could pose and practically downplayed what the former heavyweight MMA king could do inside the cage:

“Arjan Bhullar has shown that he never comes to fight. His MMA is rubbish.”

ONE 166 is available live and free to all Prime Video subscribers in the United States and Canada.