Amir Aliakbari

Amir Aliakbari (, born 11 December 1987) is an Iranian wrestler and mixed martial artist who competes in the Heavyweight division. He has also competed for ONE Championship, Absolute Championship Berkut (ACB) and Rizin Fighting Federation.

Aliakbari is also a former gold medalist and world champion in Greco-Roman wrestling, winning gold medals at the 2010 World Wrestling Championships and 2009 Asian Wrestling Championships. International Wrestling Federation FILA (now United World Wrestling) 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.

Aliakbari missed the 2012 Summer Olympics due to a doping suspension. However, in December 2013, International Wrestling Federation, FILA banned Aliakbari for life after a second doping offense. 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 of AKA Thailand in Phuket, Thailand, also training alongside UFC fighters Mark Hunt and Soa Palelei.

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 Rizin Fighting Federation. 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 in the quarter-finals in December 2016. However, Carwin withdrew from the tournament and he instead faced Heath Herring. 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 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 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 ONE Championship. 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 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 on March 1, 2024, at ONE 166. 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.

Return to Absolute Championship Akhmat On August 15, 2025, Aliakbari faced Salimgerey Rasulov at ACA 190. He won by technical knockout.

Aliakbari faced Tony Johnson at ACA 194 on October 23, 2025. He won by unanimous decision.

Mixed martial arts record Loss

Alikhan Vakhaev KO (punches) ACA 206

Moscow, Russia Win

Tony Johnson Decision (unanimous) ACA 194

Dubai, United Arab Emirates Win

Salimgerey Rasulov TKO (punches and elbows) ACA 190

Moscow, Russia Loss

Marcus Buchecha Submission (rear-naked choke) ONE 169

Bangkok, Thailand Win

Arjan Bhullar DQ (timidity) ONE 166

Lusail, Qatar Win

Dustin Joynson TKO (submission to punches) ONE Fight Night 12

Bangkok, Thailand Win

Brandon Vera TKO (elbows and punches) ONE 164

Pasay, Philippines Win

Mauro Cerilli TKO (elbows) ONE on Prime Video 1

Kallang, Singapore Loss

Anatoly Malykhin KO (punches) ONE: Revolution

Kallang, Singapore Loss

Kang Ji-won KO (punch) ONE: Fists of Fury 2

Kallang, Singapore Win

Shelton Graves TKO (punches) ACA 93

Saint Petersburg, Russia Win

Daniel Omielańczuk Decision (unanimous) ACB 89

Krasnodar, Russia Win

Denis Smoldarev TKO (elbows and punches) ACB 83

Baku, Azerbaijan Win

Tyler King TKO (punches) Rizin World Grand Prix 2017: Opening Round - Part 1

Saitama, Japan Win

Gerônimo dos Santos TKO (punches) Rizin 2017 in Yokohama: Sakura

Yokohama, Japan Loss

Mirko Cro Cop KO (punches)

Win

Valentin Moldavsky Decision (split)

Win

Heath Herring Decision (unanimous) Rizin World Grand Prix 2016: 2nd Round

Saitama, Japan Win

João Isidoro Almeida TKO (punches) Rizin World Grand Prix 2016: 1st Round

Saitama, Japan Win

Radu Spinghel TKO (punches) REAL 3

Yokohama, Japan Win

Hyung Chul-lee TKO (punches) Full Metal Dojo 7

Bangkok, Thailand

Greco-Roman results

Res. Record Opponent Score Date Event Location