Mehdi Zatout says opportunity to compete in boxing for ONE Championship made him "say yes"

Former ONE bantamweight Muay Thai contender Mehdi Zatout is officially back in action in ONE Championship for the first time since October 2022, as he is now preparing to fight Zuhayr Al-Qahtani in a catchweight boxing match at ONE 166.

Zatout and Al-Qahtani will throw hands in front of a sold-out crowd inside the Lusail Sports Arena in Qatar, where they are part of a historic and loaded card that will feature three world title fights.

In his most recent interview with ONE Championship, ‘Diamond Heart’ explained that the world’s largest martial arts organization has offered him an irresistible offer to come out of retirement and compete again at the highest level.

The Algerian icon said:

“When people saw me at events, they’d ask, ‘Mehdi, do you want to fight?’ I would usually respond, ‘Of course, but not Muay Thai or kickboxing.’ What made me say yes was when ONE offered this boxing fight.”

With more than 100 bouts in Muay Thai and kickboxing under his belt, Zatout put them behind him and hung up the gloves in 2022 after going out on top with a win over Asa Ten Pow at ONE on Prime Video 3 via first-round TKO.

But with ONE Championship’s offer to face an undefeated boxer and test his mettle against him was a hard proposition to resist, which made him decide to make a comeback.

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Mehdi Zatout has put up his own gym, Venum Training Camp after his retirement

Even before retiring from fighting professionally in the 'Art of Eight Limbs', Zatout founded his own gym in Pattaya, Thailand, called Venum Training Camp, where he helps other professional fighters prepare and train for their fights.

Some of the notable names and ONE Championship fighters that are affiliated with his newly founded gym are Alaverdi Ramazanov, Fahdi Khaled, Nabil Anane, Shergod Kabutov, and Khalid Friggini.

ONE 166: Qatar is available live and for free to all Prime Video subscribers in North America on March 1.