Former ONE bantamweight kickboxing world champion Hiroki Akimoto will run it back against Chinese rival Wei Rui later this year. Fans are now counting the days when it goes down.ONE Championship recently added Wei-Akimoto II to the stacked card being assembled for ONE 173: Superbon vs. Noiri on Nov. 16. The event will take place at the Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan, and will mark the second live event of the promotion in the 'Land of the Rising Sun' for 2025.The showdown between the two top-notch bantamweight fighters is a repeat of their competitive first encounter in May last year, where the Chinese kickboxer won by unanimous decision. View this post on Instagram Instagram PostFans chimed in on ONE's announcement of the rematch in an Instagram post, sharing their thoughts in the comments section."He won the first time …" a fan wrote while voicing his opinion on Hiroki Akimoto's first meeting against Wei Rui.Hiroki Akimoto won the first encounter, a fan claimed."Akimoto by ud [should’ve won the first]," a user boldly called the rematch this early in favor of the hometown bet.Calling it for Akimoto"Let's go hiroki🔥," another cheered for Hiroki.Rallying behind AkimotoSome comments, meanwhile, spotlighted how Wei-Akimoto II was a good addition to an already-solid card for ONE 173."That’s one heck of a matchup🙌🏾 can’t wait to see how the rematch goes," a fan wrote.Highly anticipated rematch"Card is getting better and better and better 🔥🔥🔥," a user noted.ONE 173 just got better"Banger!" a comment simply put.A banger of a rematchIn their first encounter, both Hiroki Akimoto and Wei Rui engaged in high-level striking throughout three rounds with the outcome easily going either way. In the end though, Wei earned the nod of the judges in a closely called decision, paving the way for the now-scheduled rematch.Hiroki Akimoto eyes redemption in rematch against Wei RuiBelieving that he won their first encounter, Hiroki Akimoto said he welcomes the opportunity to re-engage against Wei Rui at ONE 173 and redeem himself.He spoke about it in an interview with ONE Championship, highlighting how he has been calling for a rematch since losing to Wei last year and that he is grateful that he has been given that opportunity.The 34-year-old Japanese star said:“I’ve been calling for this rematch ever since our last fight, so I’m even more fired up now that it’s finally happening.“Winning this fight will allow me to once again prove my value.”Hiroki Akimoto was last in action in March, defeating Brazilian legend John Lineker by split decision in their bantamweight kickboxing joust. The win halted Akimoto's three-fight slide.For his part, Wei Rui is out for a bounce-back win after falling short in his bid for the bantamweight kickboxing gold in February in Qatar, losing to reigning divisional king Jonathan Haggerty.For more information on ONE 173: Superbon vs. Noiri, follow Sportskeeda MMA and ONE Championship.