SUMMARY
- Wei Rui will face off against Hiroki Akimoto at ONE Fight Night 22.
- Akimoto has a bold prediction about the Kickboxing bout on May 3.
Former ONE Bantamweight Kickboxing World Champion Hiroki Akimoto’s journey back to the throne starts at ONE Fight Night 22: Sundell vs. Diachkova on Prime Video.
Akimoto last tasted action over a year ago due to visa issues that forced him from Singapore back to Japan. Those issues aside, the Japanese striker will now return to ONE Championship on Friday, May 3, against decorated Chinese kickboxer Wei Rui inside Bangkok, Thailand’s Lumpinee Boxing Stadium.
ONE Fight Night 22 will mark Akimoto’s first outing since parting ways with the gold at ONE 163 in November 2022, and the test doesn’t get much bigger than Wei. But Akimoto feels he has made the correct adjustments to return in emphatic fashion.
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“My opponent is a really good fighter, so I was happy when I got the offer. I knew about him. I haven’t seen him fight live, but I had the impression that he’s a skilled fighter,” Akimoto said.
“I just see him as another fighter who has strengths but also areas that can be exploited, so I’ll just prepare as I always do… Ultimately, I won’t know until I actually fight, but I’m getting a good feeling. I’m having many realizations in each training session, and I can feel myself growing.”
Combat sports fans view this collision as one of the most intriguing bantamweight kickboxing contests this year, one between two of the best strikers on the planet. Should Akimoto prevail, he could be looking at a title opportunity against two-sport ONE World Champion Jonathan Haggerty.
Hiroki Akimoto plans to shut down debuting Wei Rui at ONE Fight Night 22
Hiroki Akimoto is competing after a long layoff, and his return certainly brings many questions to the forefront. But coming back against a formidable K-1 Champion riding a 20-fight winning streak in Wei Rui is a whole other kettle of fish.
That said, Akimoto wants to silence the critics who will watch his return at ONE Fight Night 22. And he plans on doing that by implementing his striking and shutting down Wei’s offense at the earliest moment.
“I want to shut him out completely. That’s the main goal. There are a few key points I have in mind, so I want to execute those properly. If I let him take control, I’ll lose, so I need to do what I’ve practiced,” Akimoto said.
“Since my opponent is skilled with both kicks and punches, I think it will be more of a long-range fight. The exchanges at that range should be interesting to watch.”
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ONE Fight Night 22’s kickboxing extravaganza has huge repercussions for the rest of the bantamweight kickboxing division. Wei certainly wants to announce himself in the world’s largest martial arts organization, while Akimoto looks to revamp his reputation as the best around.