“He doesn't have that kind of knockout power” - Anatoly Malykhin doesn’t see Arjan Bhullar stopping Amir Aliakbari in Qatar

Reigning two-division ONE world champion Anatoly Malykhin doesn’t see Arjan Bhullar finishing his ONE 166 opponent — Amri Aliakbari — but he does believe ‘Singh’ will see his hand raised in Qatar.

On Friday, March 1, ONE Championship makes its highly anticipated Qatar debut at the Lusail Sports Arena for a loaded card complete with three massive ONE world title rematches. In the main event of the evening, current ONE heavyweight and light heavyweight MMA world champion Malykhin will attempt to make history by becoming the first-ever king of three divisions when he challenges defending ONE middleweight MMA world titleholder Reinier de Ridder.

But first, fight fans will see a massive heavyweight clash with major world title implications when former ONE heavyweight MMA world champion Arjan Bhullar meets streaking Iranian knockout artist Amir Aliakbari.

Sharing his thoughts on the high-stakes heavyweight showdown in an interview with ONE Championship, Malykhin sees Bhullar getting the best of Aliakbari, though he can’t see ‘Singh’ scoring a finish against the Greco-Roman Wrestling world champion. Malykhin said:

“Of course, Arjan's not going to knock out Aliakbari, he doesn't have that kind of knockout power, but I think he's going to outwork him. Arjan is the smarter fighter, more cunning.”

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Amir Aliakbari determined to keep his KO streak alive against Arjan Bhullar

Arjan Bhullar will look to bounce back after coming up short in a world title unification fight with Anatoly Malykhin at ONE Friday Fights 22 in June.

Meanwhile, Amir Aliakbari has been running roughshod over the heavyweight division, earning three straight knockouts against Mauro Cerilli, former ONE heavyweight MMA world champion Brandon ‘The Truth’ Vera, and Canada’s Dustin Joynson.

The winner will likely emerge as the next potential challenger for Malykhin’s heavyweight crown later this year. Who comes out on top when two of ONE Championship’s heaviest hitters go toe-to-toe inside the Circle this Friday night?

Amazon Prime Video subscribers in North America can catch all the action at ONE 166: Qatar live and for free on March 1.