"It's a good thing he is confident in himself" - Wei Rui shuts down Hiroki Akimoto's claim that he won their fight

ONE bantamweight kickboxing contender Wei Rui understands Hiroki Akimoto's frustrations in the aftermath of their closely contested kickboxing match at ONE Fight Night 22 last weekend. The Chinese superstar, though, believes the judges made the right call in awarding him the split decision victory.

In his post-event interview with Sportskeeda MMA's Nick Atkin, Wei said he was simply the better fighter that night:

"It's fair for everyone to have their own thoughts. Of course, he would think he's the best and he should win. It's a good thing he is confident in himself. But in my opinion, it's not the case."

Here's the full interview:

Truth be told, Wei and Akimoto's duel was the hardest fight to judge that evening.

The pair of world-class strikers traded swift and precise bombs for three rounds and were both wary of each other's combinations.

While Akimoto was the aggressor and was the one pushing the pace, the case can be made that Wei landed more, especially in that pivotal final round. 'Demon Blade' found success from the southpaw stance and peppered the Japanese fighter with pinpoint body kicks.

One thing's for sure, it seems that Wei and Akimoto's story is far from over.

The replay of ONE Fight Night 22 is free on-demand for Prime Video subscribers in the United States and Canada.

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Hiroki Akimoto wants an immediate rematch with Wei Rui

It comes as no surprise that Akimoto wants to run it back with Wei Rui in the aftermath of ONE Fight Night 22.

In his own interview with Sportskeeda MMA, the Evolve MMA star said he now understands how the Chinese stalwart operates. As such, he knows how to beat him decisively if given another chance:

"If ONE can provide a rematch, even a direct rematch is fine. I fought three rounds with Wei Rui and I understand him well. I can go full rounds with him or I can knock him out."