Arjan Bhullar vs. Amir Aliakbari Booked For ONE 166: Qatar

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ONE Championship recently announced that its first trip to Qatar is set for 2024, and the card looks set to be stacked from top to bottom, per the promotion's latest announcement.

Former ONE heavyweight MMA king Arjan Bhullar will meet streaking sensation Amir Aliakbari at ONE 166: Qatar on Friday, 1 March, inside the Lusail Sports Arena, and both men will be out to prove their deserving of a rematch with divisional king Anatoly Malykhin.

Bhullar will return to ONE's stage for the first time since losing the ONE Heavyweight World Title unification bout to Malykhin at ONE Friday Fights 22 earlier this year in the pivotal clash, and his impressive record in the promotion will make it interesting.

After defeating Mauro Cerilli in his debut in 2019, "Singh" decimated longtime heavyweight titleholder Brandon "The Truth" Vera at ONE: DANGAL in 2021 to earn the coveted heavyweight MMA crown.

Unfortunately, that win was followed by an agonizing two-year absence from the Circle from Bhullar. During that time, Malykhin rose through the ranks and won the interim strap. He then defeated the Indian-Canadian on his return to kick off his reign as undisputed king.

Bhullar will be looking for redemption on March 1, but his opponent is out to claim as many scalps as he can in ONE since suffering a two-fight skid on arrival at the world's largest martial arts organization.

Aliakbari is now on a three-fight win streak, having not tasted defeat since his loss to Malykhin in 2021. Each victory has come via stoppage, and stars like Cerilli and Vera have all felt the heat of his fire.

Both men are grappling stars with points to prove, so this all but guarantees that a canvas-based barnburner will go down when Bhullar and Aliakbari collide in Qatar in March.

ONE 166 Card (As It Stands)

• Strawweight World Championship Bout: Jarred Brooks (c) vs. Joshua Pacio
• Heavyweight Bout: Arjan Bhullar vs. Amir Aliakbari
• Flyweight Submission Grappling Bout: Osamah Almarwai vs. Cleber Sousa