ONE Championship: Iranian heavyweight Aliakbari hopes to put his homeland on the martial arts map
- Aliakbari, who takes on ex-champion Arjan Bhullar at ONE 166, hopes to one day compete on a ONE Championship event in his native Iran
- A win against the Canadian could set up a title match against Russian reigning champion Anatoly Malykhin, who beat him previously
There is a sizeable contingent of fighters from the Middle East competing at ONE 166, and one of them hopes his continued success will see him competing in a similar event in his homeland.
Iranian heavyweight Amir Aliakbari, who is on a three-match winning streak, faces former heavyweight champion Arjan Bhullar at ONE 166, the first major global MMA promotion – produced by ONE Championship – to be held in Qatar.
“I am very happy to be part of this event and excited to fight in Qatar. Certainly, such an event happening in the Middle East contributes to the development of martial arts in the region. I really hope that ONE Championship one day comes to Iran.”
Aliakbari was expected to take ONE Championship’s heavyweight division by storm but things did not work out that way.
His ONE Championship career did not get off to a good start. He lost his first two fights, stopped in the opening round both times.
Before that, his only defeat had come at the hands of Mirko “CRO Cop” Filipovic in the final of the Rizin heavyweight Grand Prix.
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The Iranian got back on track with three wins and if he can secure a fourth in Qatar on Friday, Aliakbari could be next in line for the ONE Championship heavyweight title.
That is certainly how he sees the situation.
“This is my biggest fight in ONE so far. We were both wrestlers and have a long history in the sport. I believe it will be an excellent fight (and) I believe that the winner will deserve a title shot against the ONE heavyweight champion.”
Both men are seasoned wrestlers – Bhullar represented Canada at the 2012 Olympics in London – but Aliakbari sees his opponent as being very one dimensional.
“I would say that Bhullar’s physical abilities are his biggest source of strength and that may make it difficult for me to punch him. But I also think that if he cannot use his wrestling, he has a limited skill set and cannot do much.”
One of Aliakbari’s ONE Championship losses came at the hands of reigning heavyweight champion, Anatoly Malykhin. Both men are fighting on Friday, with the Russian headlining the event when he challenges Reinier de Ridder for the middleweight belt.
Aliakbari has made it clear he wants to run that Malykhin fight again. The Iranian has come back strongly after his two early losses and hopes he can inspire others by winning again at ONE 166.
“After my victory I will show that my path to success was based on discipline in training, perseverance after every failure, and working hard to come back stronger every time,” he said.
There aren’t any international MMA organisations putting on cards in Iran. But ONE Championship is breaking new ground in Qatar this weekend and Aliakbari hopes that his homeland could be on the list of future destinations.
Aliakbari has already fought in Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines since signing for ONE Championship. He also competed six times in Japan at the start of his MMA career and is well travelled, though he has never fought in his native Iran.
It is more than two years since Aliakbari’s last loss and he looks and sounds like a new man. The 36-year-old has prepared well for his fight with Bhullar and believes the outcome is now out of his hands.
“I’ve trained very hard, and I believe I’m ready for the fight. I will finish the match with a win, if God wills.”
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After Aliakbari’s most recent win, he called out Malykhin, who happened to be sitting ringside. A confrontation ensued, with the commentator struggling to keep the two heavyweights apart.
The pair look to be on a collision course. Assuming both men emerge victorious at ONE 166 on Friday, do not be surprised if another altercation occurs in Qatar this weekend.
