Halil Amir Pushing For Featherweight Contendership At ONE Fight Night 22

Originally posted on MMA Sucka | By Jeremy Brand | Last updated 5/2/24

On Friday, May 3, ONE Championship is back with another fun evening on Prime Video. ONE Fight Night 22 hits U.S. primetime from Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, with 11 exceptional bouts. And the co-main event will feature two outstanding athletes vying for featherweight contendership.

Lightweight title contender Halil Amir will drop down to featherweight to take on Akbar Abdullaev. Both men are perfect on the global stage and feel they are one win away from standing across from ONE Featherweight MMA World Champion Tang Kai. For Amir, the move down is an effort to take full advantage of his physical gifts.

“I’m not a big lightweight, and I think in this weight class, I’ll be faster and stronger. My opponent, Akbar, is a good fighter. He has explosive kicks, and he’s a classic kickboxer. His strong point is obvious – his striking technique,” Amir told ONE.

The Turkish star has looked outstanding to date in his lightweight matches. He has won two of his three contests by KO/TKO. Knowing he has the power to finish anybody, Amir is not planning on changing his game against Abdullaev.

“I don’t have a special plan for him. I will enter the ring and move forward, as always. My goal is to finish him. If I cannot succeed, I’ll do everything in my power to make the referee raise my hand. After my victory, I want to fight for the belt or with someone from the top five rankings,” Amir said.

In a constant strive to get better, Amir traveled to Dagestan to continue rounding out his game. While in the country, he was able to train alongside Khabib Nurmagomedov. The business trip pushed Amir to a new level that he feels will benefit him as he seeks ONE gold.

“Khabib did several training sessions. For me, it was a very good experience. He has hard training at his school. Khabib always has strict discipline during training. Naturally, the work was focused on wrestling and grappling. As a person, he is a very simple person. He is often immersed in training and helps his team and, of course, he was also pushing me during the training sessions,” Amir detailed.

The work has been put in and all that is left is to perform. Amir will know if the drop to featherweight will yield even better results on May 3. In the co-main event slot in U.S. primetime, “No Mercy” is ready to put Tang on notice that a new title threat is on the scene.

ONE Fight Night 22 airs live on Prime Video on Friday, May 3. The action begins at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. The event is free for all Amazon Prime subscribers based in the U.S. and Canada.

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