More than a year after announcing his retirement, Muay Thai legend Mehdi Zatout will be back in the ring in less than a month.

At ONE 166: Qatar, “Diamond Heart” will figure in a boxing match against Saudi Arabian pugilist Zuhayr Al-Qahtani inside Lusail Sports Arena on Friday, March 1.

Mehdi Zatout’s road to retirement

The monumental event will be the promotion’s first in Qatar and will feature multiple World Title showdowns and incredible pairings, such as Zatout and Al-Qahtani’s boxing tilt.

Zatout is a former ISKA and WBC Muay Thai World Champion with over 100 fights on his resume. In 2018, he arrived in the ONE Championship and competed with the best strikers on the planet through six thrilling bouts.

Back in October 2022’s ONE on Prime Video 3, he knocked out American star Asa Ten Pow in the first round of their bantamweight Muay Thai contest. Following his bonus-winning performance, he delivered an emotional retirement speech and laid his gloves on the canvas.

Since then, he has been busy forging current and future stars at Team Mehdi Zatout, including ONE Interim Women’s Atomweight Kickboxing World Champion Phetjeeja, former World Title challengers Alaverdi Ramazanov and Sinsamut Klinmee, and teenage phenom Nabil Anane, among others.

The Muay Thai legend’s return at ONE 166

In his return, the 40-year-old will look to showcase his punching ability against one of the region’s top prizefighters. Al-Qahtani is the first Saudi Arabian to forge a professional career in “the sweet science,” and it has so far been an impressive run. He has won the WBC Middle Eastern Championship and is undefeated in nine fights.

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The 34-year-old will have the home crowd advantage when he makes his debut in ONE, which could help him keep his pristine record going strong. The event will be headlined by two-division ONE World Champion Anatoly Malykhin’s historic attempt at conquering a third weight class when he battles Reinier de Ridder for the latter’s ONE Middleweight MMA World Title.

More fights are expected to be announced as the event draws near.

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