"I did a better job" - Hiroki Akimoto says his late fight surge should have gotten him the nod in competitive clash with Wei Rui

Former ONE bantamweight kickboxing world champion Hiroki Akimoto of Japan is coming off a hard-fought three-round battle with Chinese kickboxing icon and former K-1 world champion 'Demon Blade' Wei Rui last weekend. He lost on the judges' scorecards.

However, Akimoto believes he did more than enough to win and says he should be the rightful victor.

Speaking to Sportskeeda MMA in a recent interview, Akimoto said that he came alive in the latter half of the contest after failing to get going in round one. He believes he should have gotten the judges' nod.

The 31-year-old Evolve MMA proponent said:

"In the second and third round, I feel like I did a better job. But the result came out that I lost. I didn't feel good about that."

Akimoto and Wei locked horns 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 a grueling back-and-forth affair, 'Demon Blade' earned a unanimous decision on the scorecards.

Since then, Akimoto has called for a rematch with Wei. Even ONE Championship chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong believes the judges got it wrong and says this fight deserves an immediate do-over.

Fans in the United States and Canada can catch the action of ONE Fight Night 22 via replay on-demand on Amazon Prime Video.

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Hiroki Akimoto says he will finish Wei Rui in a rematch: "I can knock him out"

Former ONE bantamweight kickboxing king Hiroki Akimoto says he knows what he has to do the next time he faces Chinese star Wei Rui now that he has a better understanding of how the former K-1 world champion fights.

He told Sportskeeda MMA:

"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 again or I can knock him out."