Anatoly Malykhin was in the audience to watch Amir Aliakbari’s latest performance, and he wasn’t impressed with what he saw. Aliakbari picked up a first-round submission victory due to strikes against Canada’s Dustin Joynson in their heavyweight clash at ONE Fight Night 12 on Friday, July 14, earning his third straight win in the promotion after dropping his first two fights. 

His last loss was courtesy of Malykhin himself at September 2021’s ONE: Revolution, but with every victory, the Iranian’s confidence grows stronger, and his passion to call out the Russian giant for a rematch has grown with it.

Anatoly Malykhin sees nothing remarkable in Amir Aliakbari’s victories in ONE

Despite his clear run of form, Malykhin believes his former rival hasn’t been challenged enough in his latest run, and he thinks he might be reading too much into his string of wins. 

“Aliakbari has started believing his own hype,” he told ONE Championship in an interview. “Who has he beaten in his last three fights since [I knocked him out]? He beat Brandon Vera, a man who was 45 years old, who, with all due respect, was already on the decline and who came off a loss. He beat the Italian fighter, [Mauro] Cerilli, who had a loss before Aliakbari and who [was 39] years old.”

“Then, he beat this guy [Dustin Joynson], whose wrestling is… Well, he hasn’t even read a book about wrestling. These are all convenient opponents, all three opponents after losses. And it gave him enough faith in himself to challenge the champion to a fight.”

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“Sladkiy” knocked out Aliakbari in the first round the last time they met. Both men have won three bouts in a row since that time, but unlike Aliakbari, Malykhin figured in World Title matches each time. While fans were delighted to see the Iranian star pin Joynson to the ground in a crucifix that forced him to tap, Malykhin doesn’t believe the same strategy will work against him.

Anatoly Malykhin sees Amir Aliakbari as a slow and delusional individual

Furthermore, he thinks that Aliakbari’s run of three straight finishes won’t matter much if they square off in a rematch. “Watching his last fight, I see he moves like he’s underwater. He’s very slow, just dragging the fight,” Malykhin said.

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“If this guy thinks that he will be able to take me down and finish me from the crucifix like he did with the others, then he is very delusional. After two or three of my punches, he’ll just go to sleep.”