Amir Aliakbari on his three straight TKO victories: “I am returning to the level that I was expecting”

With three-straight finishes under his belt, Amir Aliakbari is finally where he wanted to be when he entered ONE Championship in 2021.

The Iranian wrestling standout delivered another quick finish inside the legendary Lumpinee Boxing Stadium at ONE Fight Night 12, finishing Canada’s Dustin Joynson via submission due to strikes in the opening round of their main card matchup. It was another step in the right direction after suffering a rocky start to his tenure with the promotion.

Amir Aliakbari went 0-2 in his first two appearances but has seemingly found the recipe for success inside the Circle. With wins over Mauro Cerilli, Brandon Vera, and the aforementioned Dustin Joynson, Aliakbari is on a path that could potentially lead him directly to a ONE heavyweight world title opportunity.

“So I want to tell you that I am returning to the level that I was expecting myself to do,” Aliakbari said in a post-fight interview. “So this expectation and everything will help me and lead me to the next [victory].”

As impressive as Amir Aliabari’s performance was, much of the attention he garnered came after the fight. Following his victory, Aliakbari was joined in the ring by reigning ONE heavyweight world champion Anatoly Malykhin. The two had a very heated face-off that got a little physical before being broken up.

The former UWW Grecco-Roman wrestling world champion has made it abundantly clear that he wants a fight with Malykhin. Not just in hopes of capturing his first ONE world title, but to also avenge the loss he suffered against Malykhin in his sophomore appearance with the promotion at ONE: Revolution.

If you missed any of the action or just want to relive an epic night in ONE Championship history, the ONE Fight Night 12 replay can be watched anytime on demand via Amazon Prime Video in North America.