How Amir Aliakbari Made A Big Comeback After a Tough Start in ONE Championship
Iran’s MMA star Amir Aliakbari explained how he turned around his fortunes at ONE Championship after a difficult start.
The 36-year-old Iranian is preparing to face Brazil’s star heavyweight Marcus “Buchecha” Almeida at ONE 169: Malykhin vs Reug Reug, which kicks off in the morning hours of Saturday November 9.
Aliakbari is on an impressive four-win-streak in which he defeated two former ONE Heavyweight MMA world champions.
However, the Iranian had endured a tough start, losing his first two fights via first-round knockouts against Kang Ji-Won and ONE three-division MMA world champion Anatoly Malykhin.
Since then, the Iranian has made a stunning comeback that he attributes to working again with his former coach, Ali Reza Staki, after his second defeat in ONE Championship at the hands of Malykhin.
“The secrets behind my comeback include the return of my former coach and working with a new bodybuilding coach and joint fights with different fighters all over the world,” Aliakbari said.
Aliakbari won four fights in a row since August 2022. The last two years have seen the Iranian pick up two TKO wins against Italy’s Mauro Cerilli and former ONE Heavyweight MMA world champion Brandon Vera, a first-round submission victory against Dustin Joynson and a DQ win against former heavyweight champion Arjan Bhullar in Qatar.
The winner between Aliakbari and Marcus “Buchecha” Almeida could face the man who leaves the show’s main event with the ONE Heavyweight MMA world title as Malykhin defends his gold against Oumar “Reug Reug” Kane.
ONE 169 kicks off at 3:00 AM Mecca on Saturday, November 9 and will be broadcast live via beIN SPORTS.
