ONE Championship: Amir Aliakbari demands Brandon Vera title shot on debut – ‘I don’t need other fights’
- Aliakbari ‘ready’ to fight ONE heavyweight champ Vera first up after signing with the Asian promotion last month
- Former amateur wrestling champ, who has nearly two million Instagram followers in Iran, says ‘everybody wants me to take the belt’
Amir Aliakbari is a man of few words. But the Iranian heavyweight’s end game after signing with ONE Championship is clear.
The 32-year-old former Rizin star (10-1) only put pen to paper on a deal with the Asian martial arts organisation last week but he has already set his sights on ONE heavyweight champion Brandon Vera.
“I’m ready for a title shot,” Aliakbari told SCMP MMA. “I don’t need other fights. I think I’m ready to fight him.”
“Bro, me and my people we are together,” added the former amateur wrestling world champ, who has nearly two million followers on Instagram from his home country. “And everybody wants me to fight for the title shot, everybody wants me to take the belt, and everybody is excited if I fight with Brandon.”
Aliakbari, who signed with the UFC last year but was released before fighting, has only ever lost in MMA to the legendary Mirko Cro Cop, a first-round knockout in the final of Rizin’s openweight grand prix in 2016.
Aliakbari’s new manager Ali Abdelaziz, who recently struck a partnership with ONE to bring some of his free agents to the promotion, told SCMP MMA he had suggested to Chatri Sityodtong the idea of hosting a similar heavyweight tournament. ONE’s heavyweight ranks have also been boosted by Aliakbari’s fellow Dominance stablemate Marcus “Buchecha” Almeida, a former 13-time Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu world champ.
“Of course if it’s good money, then yeah, no problem,” Aliakbari said, laughing, when asked if he’d like to fight in another grand prix.
ONE returned to action last month with a behind-closed-doors event in Bangkok but the coronavirus pandemic is still playing havoc with the promotion’s schedule, and the date of Aliakbari’s debut is to be determined.
“I’m ready for a fight, bro,” he said. “I can fight tomorrow, no problem. But they said to me maybe October 30. It makes no difference for me, they can give me anybody.”
Aliakbari had told ESPN in a statement that he wanted to show the world he is “the real Iron Sheikh, the pride of Iran”, instead of the “fake wrestler” of WWE fame, but he backtracked on those words.
“I never called myself ‘The Iron Sheikh’,” he insisted. “He was also an Iranian who I respect. I’m my own person and I hope to build my own identity.”
“I’m so happy to sign with ONE Championship I think it’s very good for my future,” he added.
