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Algerian combat sports legend Mehdi Zatout is excited about the opportunity to cut short his retirement to compete in his first-ever boxing match under the ONE Championship banner.
On Friday, March 1, the promotion will make its long-awaited debut inside the Lusail Sports Arena in Qatar for ONE 166. In the main event of the evening, two-division world titleholder Anatoly Malykhin will chase history as he challenges Reinier de Ridder for the ONE middleweight MMA world championship. If Malykhin emerges victorious, he will be the first-ever simultaneous three-division world champion in MMA history.
But first, fight fans watching around the world will see the return of former WBC Muay Thai world champion Mehdi Zatout as he emerges from the shadows to compete against ‘The Arabian Warrior’ Zuhayr Al-Qahtani in a boxing bout.
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Speaking with ONE Championship ahead of his highly anticipated return to Circle, Mehdi said:
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“I was actually sad when I made my decision to retire because I really wanted to fulfill my dream of competing in boxing at least once in my career.”
The return of Mehdi Zatout is one of many reasons to get excited about ONE 166
In addition to the return of Mehdi Zatout, ONE 166 will feature a slew of incredible cant’-miss matchups, including an electrifying world title rematch in the co-main event. Thanh Le will look to trade in his interim ONE featherweight MMA world title for undisputed gold when he runs back his ONE 160 clash against the division’s reigning king, Tang Kai.
Fans will also be treated to another epic sequel when ONE strawweight MMA world champion Jarred ‘The Monkey God’ Brooks once again meets Filipino fan favorite Joshua Pacio in one of three world title tilts in Qatar.
Which fight are you most looking forward to when ONE Championship heads to Qatar’s second-largest city?
Amazon Prime Video subscribers in North America can catch all the action at ONE 166: Qatar live and for free on Friday, March 1.
