A new contender emerged for Jonathan Haggerty and the ONE Championship bantamweight kickboxing division. Wei Rui arrived with a unanimous decision win over Hiroki Akimoto at ONE Fight Night 22. The former K-1 World Champion reflected on his narrow victory and felt that the initial performance would only serve him better in future matches.
“The fight was really great. I think I made a good first impression, but I will improve the fans’ expectations with better performances in my next challenges. I know I barely passed this test. I will try my best to adjust to the ONE Championship ring. And I feel like next time, I will perform better. I’m super motivated now. I will continue to focus on training, and I will try harder the next time. I will be back,” Wei expressed to ONE.
The debut performance was not an average debut. “Demon Blade” went up against the division’s #1-ranked contender and walked away with a key victory. In the wake of the event, Wei usurped the position and became the chief challenger in the official ONE athlete rankings.
The matchup went down to the wire. Akimoto and Wei pushed each other and scored, but in the end, all three judges saw it for the Chinese athlete. The decision was not unanimous in the eyes of fans, many of whom believed Akimoto should have gotten the nod. However, Wei is satisfied with the result and never felt he was in true danger.
“The decision is made by the judges. Before they announced the result, I wasn’t 100 percent confident that I would win, but I still believed everything went well enough for me to get the victory. I think I was always in a strong position in this fight, and although sometimes it was hard, he didn’t really threaten me,” the Chinese star stated.
In his ONE debut, Wei tasted Akimoto’s power and skill. Even with a win, the Chinese star credited his Japanese foe with being his toughest test to date. The difference, at least according to Wei, was his cardio.
“Firstly, I think Hiroki is a very tough, strong opponent. As you all know, his kicks and attacks are always crazy and powerful, and compared to my previous opponents, I felt it was harder. He did a lot of crazy things. But he didn’t really dominate the fight, as you could see him struggling. He couldn’t fight at my pace, and I’m always unpredictable. That is also my greatest strength,” Wei admitted.
The debut performance was not an average debut. “Demon Blade” went up against the division’s #1-ranked contender and walked away with a key victory. In the wake of the event, Wei usurped the position and became the chief challenger in the official ONE athlete rankings.
Although Wei has put Haggerty in his crosshairs, he is preparing to take a long road to the gold. The successful debut was a big learning experience that he will bring forward. Wei was clear that future matches will allow fans to see an even better “Demon Blade” take charge in the ring.
“I think I am qualified to be the next belt challenger. Because, as you know, Hiroki used to be the champion in this division, and I beat him. That means I can definitely go for the belt. Challenging the champion, of course, is not an easy thing to do. I have to prepare for a long time, and I will focus on my training in this next stage. I will follow a long-term, systematic training plan. I can’t say in detail, but I will prepare myself, both physically and technically,” Wei said.
