Anatoly Malykhin says he’ll finish Amir Aliakbari “even faster than last time” in case a rematch happens

Freshly-minted ONE double-world champion Anatoly Malykhin is out to make history. After swiftly dispatching his rival Arjan Bhullar to unify the promotion's heavyweight belts, 'Sladkiy' declared his intentions to become the first-ever three-division MMA world champion.

Though a fight with reigning ONE middleweight world champion Reinier de Ridder, a man Malykhin already beat for the light heavyweight strap, would surely produce fireworks, there are still some enticing bouts at heavyweight.

One such heavyweight bout is a rematch with another fighter Anatoly Malykhin already beat, Iranian wrestling powerhouse Amir Aliakbari. The Iranian behemoth was utterly destroyed by Anatoly Malykhin in 2021 but has since bounced back with two straight stoppage wins. He then made it known that he wants a rematch with the current champ-champ.

To answer this, Malykhin told ONE:

"What can he do to a double champion? I'll just knock him out even faster than I did last time. I'm on a whole different level."

On Friday, Aliakbari will face Dustin Joynson on the main card of ONE Fight Night 12 inside the iconic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium. If he dispatches the Canadian in similar fashion as his previous two outings, he might have a stronger argument to get another shot at 'Sladkiy'.

Once again, the ONE light heavyweight and heavyweight world champion easily dismissed his former foe in the interview with ONE:

“So, Aliakbari just thinks he's winning now and that he's found his game. When he meets me, I'll show him his place again and show him what he can really do.”

Since their clash in 2021, Malykhin has also been destroying his way to the top of the promotion's heavier weight classes. In just three fights, the heavy-handed Russian won the ONE interim heavyweight world title, the ONE light-heavyweight world title, and then unified the ONE world heavyweight belts. All of which were achieved via knockout.

There is an eerie similarity to the paths of Amir Aliakbari and Anatoly Malykhin's paths since they first locked horns. Only time will tell if ever the two will meet again.

ONE Fight Night 12 is available for free to Prime Video subscribers in North America.