Two heavyweights are making their way to ONE Championship as the promotion has reportedly signed Amir Aliakbari and Marcus Almeida to multi-fight deals.
ESPN first reported the signings of Aliakbari and Almeida. ONE Championship has since confirmed the Aliakbari signing.
Aliakbari (10-1-0) enters the promotion while in the midst of a five-fight winning streak. Additionally, he has not suffered a defeat in over two years. Aliakbari has only lost once in his professional career. That imperfection on his record is a consequence of a December 2016 loss to Mirko Cro Cop at Rizin 5. Aliakbari has previously picked up victories over two UFC veterans: Daniel Omielanczuk and Heath Herring.
Almeida (0-0-0) has no amateur or professional MMA experience to speak of but he is a multiple-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion. Almeida retired from grappling competitions last month and shifted his focus exclusively to MMA. Almeida will train with Evolve MMA going forward, having previously trained at the American Kickboxing Academy (AKA).
There is no set date for either fighters' professional debut, but ESPN reports that Almeida could compete by the end of the year.
