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Chinese kickboxing superstar and former K-1 world champion 'Demon Blade' Wei Rui was successful in his highly anticipated ONE Championship debut last weekend. However, things didn't exactly turn out the way he had hoped.
Wei climbed into the ring with former ONE bantamweight kickboxing world champion Hiroki Akimoto of Japan at ONE Fight Night 22: Sundell vs. Diachkova on Prime Video.
The event took place live from the iconic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, on Saturday, May 4th.
After three rounds of back-and-forth action, Wei and Akimoto went to the final bell, with 'Demon Blade' taking home a close and hotly contested unanimous decision victory.
However, many fans and observers did not seem to agree with the judges' decision. A lot of people who saw the fight, including ONE Championship chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong, felt that the judges got the decision wrong and Akimoto should have won.
Speaking to Sportskeeda MMA in a recent interview, Wei explained why he thinks he is still the rightful winner despite the criticism.
'Demon Blade' said:
"I think I controlled him more, and the frequency of his punches and attacks was not as high as mine, so I think technically I got the prominent position in the ring."
Needless to say, it was definitely a close fight, and one that could have gone either way. A rematch is definitely warranted to clear the confusion, and fans should not mind seeing these two go at it again.
Fans in the United States and Canada can catch the action of ONE Fight Night 22 via replay on-demand on Amazon Prime Video.
Wei Rui promises different performance in next ONE fight: "I will perform better"
Chinese kickboxing star 'Demon Blade' Wei Rui admits he wasn't one hundred percent satisfied with his performance against Hiroki Akimoto and says there is definitely room for improvement.
He told ONE:
"I would try my best to adjust to the ring in ONE Championship. And I feel like next time, I will perform better."
