Malykhin’s interest is justified: Aliakbari, 35, could potentially become a future rival for the Russian heavyweight.
– I think Alikabari just gives passing opponents. Justin is a middle-aged fighter. He did not show any serious results, he lost to Kirill Grishchenko, – Malykhin commented on the upcoming fight for ONE.
It was after passing Grishchenko in February 2022 that Malykhin won the interim heavyweight championship belt.
Malykhin travels to the tournament from Phuket, where he owns Dobrynya Gym, to host a pre-tournament fan meeting and second fighter Tagir Khalilov, 30. The Khalilov flyweight fight against Superlek Muay Thai will headline the ONE Fight Night 12 card.
Malykhin, who is now trying to drop down to 93kg to try for the ONE belt and middleweight division, already knocked out Aliakbari in September 2021. However, since then the Iranian has added wins over Brandon Vera and Mauro Cerilli. Malykhin, who does not deny the high level of wrestling qualities of a potential opponent, does not consider him a dangerous opponent:
Aliakbari thinks now that he is winning, that he has found his game. But when he meets me, I will show him his place again. I will show that he actually can, and not in his fantasies.
Aliakbari has not competed since December 2022. The fight in Bangkok will show if the Iranian heavyweight can become a title contender against reigning heavyweight champion Malykhin.
Live broadcasts of the Mixed Martial Arts tournaments can be seen on and Match! Fighter”, as well as on the sites matchtv.ru and sportbox.ru.
Source : MatchTV
I am Ashley Ortiz and I am a professional journalist working for Athletistic. My specialty is in sports journalism, particularly boxing. I have written articles for some of the most renowned publications on the subject, and my work has been featured across both print and digital media platforms.
