After notching his first victory in ONE Championship last year, Dustin Joynson feels more confident about his ability to make an impact against the promotion’s top heavyweight MMA competitors.
On Friday, July 14, the Canadian will get his most high-profile matchup to date when he battles Iranian superstar Amir Aliakbari at ONE Fight Night 12 on Prime Video live in North American primetime.
Their contest will come at the famed Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, where Joynson will use the lessons he’s learned from his first two bouts in the organization.
He most recently defeated Hugo Cunha in a hard-fought three-rounder at ONE: BAD BLOOD, overcoming the BJJ black belt and former national wrestler with a solid stand-up display.
And while the bout ultimately reached the scorecards, the 37-year-old striker was largely satisfied with the result and his overall game plan.
Joynson told ONEFC.com:
“I liked my performance. I know he had a really deep ground game so I tried my best to avoid it.
“Obviously I would like to have gotten a finish, but it’s hard fighting all of these big undefeated guys (Cunha entered with a 7-0 MMA record). Everyone’s trying to win. So it’s not as easy to finish people.”
Now set to face another monstrous rival with a strong grappling game, Joynson feels like his victory over Cunha prepared him well.
So, while Aliakbari is a former Greco-Roman Wrestling World Champion who’s finished two straight opponents in ONE, the Canadian took several positives from his last appearance that he believes will put him in a position to succeed.
Joynson said:
“The big takeaways [from my last match] are I know my cardio is good. I know I can always go through the pressure and keep pushing forward. I was definitely outstriking him by a lot, so it was good to know that I can put pressure on people like that.
“I’m always trying to improve my wrestling because it seems that everyone in ONE has a big wrestling background or some sort of jiu-jitsu. So that’s always been my biggest takeaway for all these fights.”
Joynson On Aliakbari: ‘I Think I Can Probably Drop Him’
Dustin Joynson was eager to get back into competition, and he jumped at the chance to take on Amir Aliakbari in Bangkok.
Their bout came on short notice, which would make preparations difficult for many athletes. However, the British Columbia native credits his consistency as the main reason he will be good to go on July 14.
Joynson explained:
“Right now, I’m in Vancouver doing a fight camp over here with Caio Machado, who I fought for the BFL title a few years back. So, fight camp’s been going good over here.
“I’m always in good shape more or less anyways. So, three weeks is manageable for me because some people might slack a bit more in the offseason when they’re not fighting, but I still train six days a week. So I’m always kinda ready.”
After taking on strong wrestlers in both of his ONE outings to date, the 6-foot-6 striker feels good about his odds of hurting Aliakbari on the feet.
Joynson knows the Iranian will look to get in close and impose his grappling, but he’ll look to find an opening and land some hard shots – ideally leading to his first stoppage win in the organization.
He added:
“Yeah, he’s a good wrestler. Like I said, everyone seems to be a wrestler in ONE. I think if I can just tag him and put pressure on him, make sure he doesn’t grab me, I think I can probably drop him.
“Best-case scenario, he walks right into my right fist or to my head kick.”
