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Former ONE bantamweight kickboxing world champion and current first-ranked contender Hiroki Akimoto of Japan made his highly anticipated return to action against ONE Championship newcomer 'Demon Blade' Wei Rui of China in a potential world title eliminator.
The pivotal bantamweight kickboxing showdown went down at the iconic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, on Saturday morning, May 4th.
Check out the action down below, as well as the official result.
Round 1: Wei is making his ONE Championship debut against former bantamweight kickboxing king Akimoto. The two trade kicks at the center of the ring. Wei lands a good jab-hook combination. Akimoto connects with a right hand and snaps Wei's head back. Wild hook misses for Akimoto, it is followed by a wild round kick. Neither man have taken a step backward. Wei throws a few more boxing combinations, but most punches are blocked. Close fight so far.
Round 2: Akimoto pushes forward behind punch combinations, tries for a flying knee. A nice leg kick almost takes Wei's legs out from under him. Akimoto lands a head kick. The Japanese fighter is starting to be more aggressive. Wei counters with a right hook to the body and one to the head. A sneaky left hook lands for Akimoto. Right hand for Akimoto wobbles Wei. The Chinese fighter can't seem to find a rhythm. Wei is backpedaling now. Wei digs in a few counters to take the sweat off Akimoto's forehead. End of the round.
Round 3: Final round, and it's anyone's fight at this point. Wei is trying to turn this fight around and gets more aggressive. Akimoto still pushing forward, lands a right hook. A thudding body kick connects for the Japanese fighter. Akimoto lands a right hook to the body as Wei retaliates with a stiff jab. Wei goes airborne and misses with a flying knee. Akimoto digs a left hook to the body, and Wei winces. Both men are now trading at the center of the ring, trying to unload as the fight winds down. This one goes to the scorecards.
ONE Fight Night 22 - Hiroki Akimoto vs. Wei Rui official result
Entertaining little technical scrap between former ONE bantamweight kickboxing world champion Hiroki Akimoto of Japan and multi-time K-1 world champion 'Demon Blade' Wei Rui. It was a close contest, but in the end, it was Wei who emerged victorious by unanimous decision.
Wei Rui defeats Hiroki Akimoto via unanimous decision (kickboxing - bantamweight)
