WATCH: Iranian powerhouse hammers down Filipino legend Brandon Vera in dominant victory at ONE 164

Many great fights have been held under the ONE Championship umbrella and an unforgettable one that stands the test of time took place in December 2022 in the Philippines.

At ONE 164, former ONE heavyweight MMA world champion Brandon Vera stepped inside the ONE Circle for the final time in front of his hometown fans and it was against rising Iranian heavyweight talent Amir Aliakbari.

Aliakbari, at that time, had just come off a stunning second-round TKO victory over Mauro Cerilli in August 2022 and was keen to forge his path to the ONE heavyweight MMA world championship scene by coming out on top against “The Truth”.

The pair treated fans with an exciting back-and-forth bout where Vera kept Aliakbari at bay with his leg kicks and threatened to tag him with his reach advantage, while the Iranian kept him wary of the takedown.

After a chess match featuring two heavyweight titans, Aliakbari threw caution into the wind and pinned the Filipino-American star against the cage then eventually overpowered him on the ground with a flurry of ground-and-pound strikes that had referee Herb Dean stopping the bout late in the first round.

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Amir Aliakbari looking to repeat the feat against former ONE heavyweight king

Fans will see Aliakbari inside the ONE Circle once again come March 1 as ONE Championship goes to Qatar for ONE 166 where he will take on Arjan Bhullar in the undercard at Lusail Sports Arena.

Momentum is on Aliakbari’s side entering this bout as Bhullar had just lost in the unification match for the undisputed ONE heavyweight MMA world championship against Anatoly Malykhin last June.

However, that does not mean that Bhullar is any less dangerous as he logged a TKO win against Vera also to become ONE heavyweight MMA world champion back in 2021.