Amir Aliakbari puts everything behind vanquishing Anatoly Malykhin: “I hope that I can win”

Following his win at ONE Fight Night 12, Amir Aliakbari already had his next move lined up, targeting former foe Anatoly Malykhin.

Stopping Dustin Joynson in the first round at the iconic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, the Iranian heavyweight contender has produced three consecutive wins since his last defeat.

Beating both Brandon Vera and Mauro Cerilli, Aliakbari has put his first-round loss to Malykhin behind him as he chases a rematch with the current world champion. After dominating Joynson with his grappling, the 35-year-old got on the mic and called out the champ, who happened to be sitting ringside.

With Malykhin leaving his seat to climb over the barricade and over the ropes, the two had a heated face-off with commentator Mitch Chilson stuck in the middle of the two giants.

Clearly feeling disrespected by Aliakbari’s callout, having downplayed his recent performances during a post-event interview, Malykhin wants to shut his former opponent up once again and continue his undefeated run of finishes at the top of the division.

Despite the champion’s continued dominance, which recently saw him unify the heavyweight titles against Arjan Bhullar at ONE Friday Fights 22, Amir Aliakbari is confident that this time around, he will have what it takes to upset and dethrone Anatoly Malykhin.

In his post-event interview, Aliakbari said:

“I will prepare myself and I know that my preparedness, my fitness and all my power everything will be based on this plan and I hope that I can win.”

Watch the full interview below:

ONE Fight Night 12 is available to watch back via free replay on Prime Video for North American viewers.