Amir Aliakbari (, born 11 December 1987) is an Iranian wrestler and

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

who he competes in the

Heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Male boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 2 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation an ...

division. He has also competed for

ONE Championship ONE Championship, formerly ONE Fighting Championship (ONE FC) until January 2015, is a Multinational corporation, multinational combat sports Promoter (entertainment), promotion founded on 14 July 2011 by Chatri Sityodtong and Victor Cui. Origi ...

Absolute Championship Berkut Absolute Championship Akhmat (ACA), formerly known as Absolute Championship Berkut (ACB), is a Chechen mixed martial arts, kickboxing and Brazilian jiu-jitsu organization and one of the leading promotions in Europe. To date, most events have been ...

(ACB) and

Rizin Fighting Federation Rizin Fighting Federation (stylised in all caps and also known as Rizin FF) is a Japanese mixed martial arts organization created in 2015 by the former Pride Fighting Championships and Dream Stage Entertainment president Nobuyuki Sakakibara. ...

. Aliakbari is also a former gold medalist and world champion in

Greco-Roman wrestling Greco-Roman (American English), Graeco-Roman (British English), or classic wrestling (Euro-English) is a style of wrestling that is practiced worldwide. Greco-Roman wrestling was included in the first modern Olympic Games in 1896 and has been i ...

, winning gold medals at the

2010 World Wrestling Championships The 2010 World Wrestling Championships were held at the Olympic Stadium (Moscow), Olympic Stadium in Moscow, Russia. The event took place between September 6 to September 12, 2010. Medal table Team ranking Medal summary Men's freestyle Me ...

and 2009 Asian Wrestling Championships. International Wrestling Federation FILA (now

United World Wrestling United World Wrestling (UWW) is the international governing body for the sport of Wrestling; its duties include overseeing wrestling at the World Championships and Olympics. It presides over international competitions for various forms of wrest ...

) banned Aliakbari from competing for life after a second doping offense.

Wrestling career

In 2007–2008, Aliakbari wrestled for Melli Haffari Company Ahvaz Sports Club of the

Iranian Premier Wrestling League The Iranian Premier Wrestling League is a professional wrestling league in Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, an ...

. Aliakbari missed the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

due to a doping suspension. In the 2013 World Wrestling Championships, 120 kg he initially won a gold medal, making him a two-time world champion. However, in December 2013, International Wrestling Federation, FILA banned Aliakbari for life after a second doping offence. He was stripped of his gold medal and Heiki Nabi was moved up to gold.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

In 2014, longtime MMA entrepreneur & Gambino associate, Michael Abul personally founded Aliakbari from his wrestling credentials and got him into MMA. Abul was also a Founding investor with Paradigm Sports, so Aliakbari signed a management agreement with Paradigm Sports. At the same time, he signed on to train under UFC star

Mike Swick Michael Timothy Swick (born June 19, 1979) is a retired American professional mixed martial artist, who spent most of his career competing for the UFC's middleweight division. Swick, who trains at American Kickboxing Academy alongside fellow wel ...

of AKA Thailand in Phuket, Thailand, also training alongside UFC fighters

Mark Hunt Mark Hunt (born 23 March 1974) is a New Zealand former professional mixed martial artist and kickboxer. As a mixed martial artist, Hunt competed in Pride Fighting Championships (Pride FC) from 2004 until 2006, and the Ultimate Fighting Champi ...

and

Soa Palelei Soa Palelei (born 12 July 1977) is an Australian retired mixed martial artist. A professional from 2002 until 2015, he most notably competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship and PRIDE Fighting Championships. Background Born in 1977, Newc ...

. Aliakbari is the first world class Iranian wrestler to pursue an MMA career.

Early MMA career

In October 2015, Aliakbari made his professional MMA debut at Full Metal Dojo and defeated Hyung Chul-Lee via TKO in the first round. His second bout came two months later as he defeated Radu Spinghel via TKO in the first round.

Rizin Fighting Federation

In early 2016, it was announced that Aliakbari had signed with the Japanese promotion

. He made his debut in September in the first round of the Openweight Grand Prix against Joao Isidoro Almeida. He won the fight via TKO in the first round. Aliakbari was scheduled to face former UFC champion

Shane Carwin Shane Bannister Carwin (born January 4, 1975) is an American former mixed martial artist who competed in the Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is a former Interim UFC Heavyweight Champion. He is considere ...

in the quarter-finals in December 2016. However, Carwin withdrew from the tournament and he instead faced

Heath Herring Heath Herring (born March 2, 1978) is an American professional mixed martial artist who competed in the Heavyweight division. While perhaps best known for competing in PRIDE, he has also formerly competed for the UFC, K-1 and Rizin. Background ...

. Aliakbari won the bout by unanimous decision. In the final stage of the tournament on December 31, Aliakbari faced Valentin Moldavsky. He won the fight via split decision. He then faced

Mirko Cro Cop Mirko Filipović (; born 10 September 1974), better known by his ring name Mirko Cro Cop, is a Croatian former professional mixed martial artist, kickboxer and amateur boxer. He is mostly known for his time in Pride Fighting Championships. Cro ...

in the finals on the same night and lost the fight via knockout. He then defeated Geronimo dos Santos and Tyler King via TKO.

Absolute Championship Berkut

In December 2017 Aliakbari announced his departure from Rizin and his joining of ACB. His first opponent was Denis Smoldarev, whom Aliakbari defeated via technical knockout at 2:27 of the first round on March 24, 2018. He was set to have four opponents in ACB.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

It was reported that Aliakbari was signed by the

UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. The larg ...

on June 6, 2019 after he offered compensation to the ACA for early termination of his contract, where the compensation sum was donated to charity. The UFC terminated the Agreement due to a doping ban handed down by the international amateur wrestling governing body, as well as US sanctions.

ONE Championship

In August 2020 news broke that Aliakbari had signed with the

. He was scheduled to make his promotional debut against Islam Abasov at ONE Championship: Big Bang on December 4, 2020. However, Abasov withdrew from the fight after being detained following a road incident in his native Russia. Aliakbari faced Kang Ji Won at ONE Championship: Fists of Fury 2 on March 5, 2021. In a huge upset, Aliakbari lost to Kang by first-round knockout. Aliakbari faced Anatoly Malykhin at ONE Championship: Revolution on September 24, 2021. He lost the bout, getting knocked unconscious again in the first round. Aliakbari faced Mauro Cerilli at ONE on Prime Video 1 on August 27, 2022. He won the fight via technical knockout in the second round, earning his first promotional victory. Aliakbari faced the former ONE Heavyweight World Champion

Brandon Vera Brandon Michael Vera (born October 10, 1977), or also known by his ring name as The Truth, is a Filipino and American retired mixed martial artist where he was the inaugural ONE Heavyweight Champion and the 2005 WEC Heavyweight Grand Prix Champ ...

on December 3, 2022, at ONE 164. He won the fight by a first-round technical knockout. Aliakbari faced Dustin Joynson on July 15, 2023, at ONE Fight Night 12. He won the fight by first-round submission due to strikes. The victory also earned him a ''Performance of the Night'' bonus. Aliakbari faced

Arjan Bhullar Arjan Singh Bhullar (born May 13, 1986) is a Canadian mixed martial artist currently competing in the heavyweight division of ONE Championship, where he is the former ONE Heavyweight World Champion. He has also competed in the Ultimate Fightin ...

on March 1, 2024, at

ONE 166 ''ONE 166: Qatar'' was a combat sport event produced by ONE Championship that took place on March 1, 2024, at Lusail Sports Arena in Lusail, Qatar. Background This event marked the organization's debut in Qatar. It also the second visit to ...

. He won the fight via disqualification due to Bhullar's timidity in round three. Aliakbari faced Marcus Buchecha on November 9, 2024, at ONE 169. He lost the fight via rear-naked choke in round one. On February 9, 2025, it was announced that Aliakbari was no longer with the promotion.

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 14–4 , Marcus Buchecha , Submission (rear-naked choke) , ONE 169 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:15 ,

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...

, Thailand , , - , Win , align=center, 14–3 ,

, DQ (timidity) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 4:50 ,

Lusail Lusail (, , ) is the second-largest city in Qatar after Doha, and the economic capital of Qatar, located on the coast, in the southern part of the municipality of Al Daayen. Lusail lies about north of the Doha city centre, just north of the West ...

, Qatar , , - , Win , align=center, 13–3 , Dustin Joynson , TKO (submission to punches) , ONE Fight Night 12 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:48 ,

, Thailand , , - , Win , align=center, 12–3 ,

, TKO (elbows and punches) , ONE 164 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:37 ,

Pasay Pasay, officially the City of Pasay (; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Metro Manila, National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 Philippine census, 2020 census, it has a ...

, Philippines , , - , Win , align=center, 11–3 , Mauro Cerilli , TKO (elbows) , ONE on Prime Video 1 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4.02 ,

Kallang Kallang ( ) is a Planning Areas of Singapore, planning area and New towns of Singapore, residential zone located in the Central Region, Singapore, Central Region of Singapore. Development of the town is centered around the Kallang River, the l ...

, Singapore , , - , Loss , align=center, 10–3 , Anatoly Malykhin , KO (punches) , ONE: Revolution , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:57 ,

, Singapore , , - , Loss , align=center, 10–2 , Kang Ji-won , KO (punch) , ONE: Fists of Fury 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:54 ,

, Singapore , , - , Win , align=center, 10–1 , Shelton Graves , TKO (punches) , ACA 93 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:44 ,

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 9–1 ,

Daniel Omielańczuk Daniel Omielańczuk (born August 31, 1982) is a Polish professional mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist and kickboxer currently competing in the Heavyweight (MMA), heavyweight division of Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki (KSW). A professional MMA c ...

, Decision (unanimous) , ACB 89 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Krasnodar Krasnodar, formerly Yekaterinodar (until 1920), is the largest city and the administrative centre of Krasnodar Krai, Russia. The city stands on the Kuban River in southern Russia, with a population of 1,154,885 residents, and up to 1.263 millio ...

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 8–1 , Denis Smoldarev , TKO (elbows and punches) , ACB 83 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:25 ,

Baku Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...

, Azerbaijan , , - , Win , align=center, 7–1 , Tyler King , TKO (punches) , Rizin World Grand Prix 2017: Opening Round - Part 1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:39 , Saitama, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 6–1 , Gerônimo dos Santos , TKO (punches) , Rizin 2017 in Yokohama: Sakura , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:34 ,

Yokohama is the List of cities in Japan, second-largest city in Japan by population as well as by area, and the country's most populous Municipalities of Japan, municipality. It is the capital and most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a popu ...

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 5–1 ,

, KO (punches) , rowspan=2, Rizin World Grand Prix 2016: Final Round , rowspan=2, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:03 , rowspan=2, Saitama, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 ,

Valentin Moldavsky Valentin Igorevich Moldavsky (; born 6 February 1992) is a Russian mixed martial artist and combat sambo practitioner. He is currently competing for the PFL. He formerly competed for Bellator MMA, where he was an interim Heavyweight World Cha ...

, Decision (split) , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 , , - , Win , align=center , 4–0 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , Rizin World Grand Prix 2016: 2nd Round , , align=center , 2 , align=center , 5:00 , Saitama, Japan , , - , Win , align=center , 3–0 , João Isidoro Almeida , TKO (punches) , Rizin World Grand Prix 2016: 1st Round , , align=center , 1 , align=center , 2:25 , Saitama, Japan , , - , Win , align=center , 2–0 , Radu Spinghel , TKO (punches) , Real Fight Championship 3 , , align=center , 1 , align=center , 1:02 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center , 1–0 , Hyung Chul-lee , TKO (punches) , Full Metal Dojo 7 , , align=center , 1 , align=center , 0:17 ,

, Thailand , , -

Greco-Roman results

! colspan="8" , World Championships matches , - ! Res. ! Record ! Opponent ! Score ! Date ! Event ! Location ! Notes , - ! style=background:white colspan=9 , , - , Win , 14–1 , align=left , Heiki Nabi , 4–0 , 2013-09-16 ,

2013 World Wrestling Championships The 2013 World Wrestling Championships was the 9th edition of World Wrestling Championships of combined events and were held from September 16 to 22 in Budapest, Hungary. Medal table Team ranking Medal summary Men's freestyle Men's Greco- ...

, style="text-align:left;" ,

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

, style="text-align:left;" , , - , Win , 13–1 , align=left , Riza Kayaalp , 4–1 , 2013-09-16 ,

, style="text-align:left;" , , - , Win , 12–1 , align=left , Eduard Popp , 7–0 , 2013-09-16 ,

, style="text-align:left;" ,

, style="text-align:left;" , , - , Win , 11–1 , align=left , Johan Euren , 7–0 , 2013-09-16 ,

, style="text-align:left;" ,

, style="text-align:left;" , , - , Win , 10–1 , align=left , Oleksandr Chernetskyi , 3–1^F , 2013-09-16 ,

, style="text-align:left;" ,

, style="text-align:left;" , , - ! style=background:white colspan=9 , , - , Win , 9–1 , align=left , Tsimafai Dzeinichenka , 2–2, 1–0 , 2010-09-06 ,

, style="text-align:left;" ,

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, style="text-align:left;" , , - , Win , 8–1 , align=left , Aslanbek Khushtov , 1–0, 1–0 , 2010-09-06 ,

, style="text-align:left;" ,

, style="text-align:left;" , , - , Win , 7–1 , align=left , Kaloyan Dinchev , 3–0, 1–0 , 2010-09-06 ,

, style="text-align:left;" ,

, style="text-align:left;" , , - , Win , 6–1 , align=left ,

Mohamed Abdelfatah Mohamed Abdelfatah (Arabic: محمد عبد الفتاح, born February 4, 1978, in Suez, Egypt), commonly known by his nickname "Bogy" (Arabic: بوجى), is a retired Egyptian Olympic Greco-Roman wrestler who competed in 76 kg, 84 kg, and 96 k ...

, 1–0, 1–0 , 2010-09-06 ,

, style="text-align:left;" ,

, style="text-align:left;" , , - , Win , 5–1 , align=left , Davyd Saldadze , 1–0, 1–0 , 2010-09-06 ,

, style="text-align:left;" ,

, style="text-align:left;" , , - ! style=background:white colspan=9 , , - , Win , 4–1 , align=left , Davyd Saldadze , 1–0, 2–2 , 2009-09-26 , 2009 World Wrestling Championships , style="text-align:left;" ,

Herning Herning () is a Denmark, Danish town in the Central Denmark Region of the Jutland peninsula. It is the main town and the administrative seat of Herning Municipality. Herning has a population of 51,782 (1 January 2025)

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

, style="text-align:left;" , , - , Loss , 3–1 , align=left , Balázs Kiss , 1–0, 0–5, 0–1 , 2009-09-26 , 2009 World Wrestling Championships , style="text-align:left;" ,

, style="text-align:left;" , , - , Win , 3–0 , align=left , Alin Alexuc-Ciurariu , 2–0, 1–0 , 2009-09-26 , 2009 World Wrestling Championships , style="text-align:left;" ,

, style="text-align:left;" , , - , Win , 2–0 , align=left , Kaloyan Dinchev , 3–0, 3–0 , 2009-09-26 , 2009 World Wrestling Championships , style="text-align:left;" ,

, style="text-align:left;" , , - , Win , 1–0 , align=left , Jesper Viholt , 5–0, 4–0 , 2009-09-26 , 2009 World Wrestling Championships , style="text-align:left;" ,

, style="text-align:left;" , , -

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Aliakbari, Amir 1987 births Living people Iranian male sport wrestlers Iranian sportspeople in doping cases Iranian male mixed martial artists Melli Haffari club sportspeople Sportspeople banned for life Islamic Azad University alumni Doping cases in wrestling World Wrestling Championships medalists World Wrestling Champions Summer World University Games medalists in wrestling FISU World University Games silver medalists for Iran Heavyweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing Greco-Roman wrestling Medalists at the 2013 Summer Universiade 21st-century Iranian sportsmen ONE Championship mixed martial artists Sportspeople from East Azerbaijan province Martial artists from Tehran