Iranian MMA fighter Aliakbari eyeing a shot at ONE heavyweight title
Iranian mixed martial arts fighter Amir Aliakbari will be chasing a third successive victory in ONE Championship when he takes on Canadian Dustin Joynson at Fight Night 12 event in Bangkok on Friday.
After going undefeated in 2022, the 35-year-old Iranian hopes a win will put him in pole position for a shot at the ONE heavyweight title against reigning world champion Anatoly Malykhin.
Malykhin took out Arjan Bhullar in a unification bout at ONE Friday Fights 22 this past June and now is looking for a challenger for his heavyweight crown.
Having joined ONE Championship in 2020, Aliakbari got off to a shaky start to life in the organization, suffering back-to-back defeats against South Korean Kang Ji Won and Russian Malykhin.
The Iranian, who is on a 12-3 record – including nine knockouts – bounced back last year to come out on top against Italy’s Mauro Cerilli before outmuscling former ONE heavyweight world champion Brandon Vera in December.
In an article on the ONE Championships website, combat sports writer Ben Coate recently described Aliakbari as “one of the division’s most intriguing – and dangerous – contenders.”
“The former Greco-Roman wrestling world champion is a suffocating and powerful grappler of the highest degree, capable of putting practically any opponent on the canvas whenever he wants.
“The Tehran native is competing not just with the goal of winning a ONE world title – but also to prove he’s a better fighter than what he showed against Malykhin in their first bout.”
Alakbari’s Friday opponent, meanwhile, steps into the fight on the back of a victory via split decision over then-unbeaten Brazilian Hugo Cunha in February last year, which saw him elevate his record to 7-1.
Like Aliakbari, Joynson didn’t have an ideal start to his tenure in the organas he was beaten by former ONE world title challenger Kirill Grishenko in October 2021.
“Yeah, he’s a good wrestler. Everyone seems to be a wrestler in ONE. I think if I can just tag him and put pressure on him, make sure he doesn’t grab me, I think I can probably drop him,” Joynson said of Aliakbari recently.
“Best-case scenario, he walks right into my right fist or to my head kick.”
With Malykhin now living in Phuket, Thailand, perhaps he will make the short trip to Bangkok’s Lumpinee Boxing Stadium to closely watch Friday’s bout and find out who his next opponent will probably be.