Ali Motamed has earned himself a ONE Championship contract. The Iranian bantamweight is coming off back to back decision wins on ONE Warrior Series and caught the eye of Rich Franklin.
It has been a long journey for Motamed. He made his debut as an amateur in 2013 and won eight fights out of nine with the sole loss coming at the hands of a Malaysian opponent in Kuala Lumpur.
His professional career got off to a solid start with Motamed winning his first four fights. Initially he had mixed fortunes with Rich Franklin’s promotion, tasting victory at OWS 1 but suffering defeat at OWS 2 and OWS 4.
The Iranian has never been too results orientated and took these setbacks in his stride,
“The thing is, I never go for winning or losing. I just go there to give everything I have, and leave everything I have inside the ring,” he said.
He was happy with the level of his performances and felt that results would inevitably improve,
“The result does not really matter. Any time I go there, if I do not do what I have to do, then I will feel bad. But that is alright. I learned, and now I will go for the next one.”
Motamed is coming off decision wins at OWS 7 and OWS 9. The latter victory earned him the contract as well as a performance bonus, with the Iranian prevailing over Hikaru Yoshino courtesy of a split decision.
It took five fights with ONE Warrior Series for Motamed to convince Rich Franklin of his worth but he feels the experience has left him well prepared to take on the top bantamweights in Asia,
“That was a long journey and a hard one. Five matches (and) I’ve been here since ONE Warrior Series 1 (but) this experience made me a better fighter. I’m ready to give all I have and to perform at my best to go for that gold.”
As an amateur or professional Motamed has been in with the likes of Eddey Kalai, Kritsada Kongsrichai, Xiaoliang Zheng, Mark Abelardo and Shinechagtga Zoltsetseg. All five have either fought for ONE Championship or currently have a bout booked for the promotion.
He also holds a win over Cole Smith who is currently competing as a bantamweight for the UFC. Motamed is entitled to feel he has earned his ONE Championship contract the hard way and the Iranian will be looking to make a big impression in 2020.
