Halil Amir will defend his fourth-ranked spot in ONE Championship’s lightweight MMA division and his unbeaten professional slate when he returns at ONE Fight Night 16: Haggerty vs. Andrade on Friday, Nov. 3.
The Turkish talent will meet Ahmed Mujtaba inside Bangkok, Thailand’s Lumpinee Boxing Stadium to try and extend his winning run to 10-0. And while he recognizes his opponent’s skills, Amir doesn’t see anything exceptional from the Pakistani star.
“I wouldn’t say Ahmed is strong in one certain aspect, but he knows a little bit of everything. He’s had good victories, but he also had defeats. I didn’t see anything impressive in his style,” he told ONE.
“I think he will try to brawl with me, but I will be ready for anything. It will definitely be a good fight. I advise you not to blink.”
Amir has been incredible in his two outings on the global stage. In his 2022 debut, he shocked former ONE world title challenger Timofey Nastyukhin en route to knocking him out in the second round. And six months later, he dominated Maurice Abevi to score a unanimous decision victory.
When he steps back into action next week, the 29-year-old star wants to get back to his finishing ways to make his case for world title contendership.
“As always, my plan is to go out and put on a beautiful and spectacular fight. I don’t like to predict, but I will aim for the finish,” Amir said.
While the lightweight division is currently in flux with the absence of reigning king Christian Lee, Amir plans to do all that he can to stay at the top of the weight bracket. Unsure of what will come next, the unbeaten athlete seeks a commanding performance to leave a lasting impression on the powers that be.
“This fight is the next step to the fight for the belt,” Amir firmly stated.
“I don’t know what plans ONE has for the lightweight division. I need to get past Ahmed first, and then we’ll see. I’m always ready.”
Although he isn’t sure of what will come next, Amir is already looking at the prospect of joining the history books as a two-division champion. The Turkish star was clear that if all things go as planned, he intends to eye the featherweight gold in 2024 as well.
“I want to become the undefeated ONE lightweight MMA world champion, and then drop down to featherweight, fight for the belt, and become a double champion,” Amir said.
ONE Fight Night 16 airs live on Prime Video at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on Friday, Nov. 3. The event is free for all Amazon Prime subscribers based in the U.S. and Canada.