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Chinese star Wei Rui knew he didn't have the best possible debut when he faced Hiroki Akimoto at ONE Fight Night 22. The two former world champions had a violent chess match this past weekend at the hallowed Lumpinee Boxing Stadium.
Wei felt he didn't do enough to put the stacked bantamweight kickboxing division on notice and ultimately scored the unanimous decision win over Akimoto, but it was a fight that was as close as any, and some fans believe the fight could've gone either way.
In his post-fight interview, Wei said he was still adjusting to the faster pace ONE Championship fights have and vowed to put on a better showing in his next fight for the promotion.
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"I would try my best to adjust to the ring in ONE Championship. And I feel like next time, I will perform better," said Wei Rui.
Wei held gold at K-1 Kickboxing, Wu Lin Feng, and Glory of Heroes before signing with ONE Championship earlier this year.
Akimoto was seen as a stiff test for Wei, especially since he was a former ONE bantamweight kickboxing world champion.
The championship pedigree between the two strikers was evident throughout the fight, and neither fighter had a dominant stretch for more than a minute.
Wei and Akimoto put on a fast-paced match that 'Demon Blade' ultimately took by unanimous decision.
Wei Rui isn't too satisfied with his debut fight in ONE Championship
It's no secret that high expectations were put on Wei Rui when he signed with ONE Championship this year.
Wei is the first K-1 Kickboxing world champion from China and held multiple titles under Glory of Heroes and Wu Lin Feng.
So when the Chinese star stepped between the ropes at Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, he felt the burden of delivering instantly.
Wei, however, didn't have the debut he wanted despite taking the unanimous decision win over former ONE bantamweight kickboxing world champion Hiroki Akimoto.
"First thing, I would give myself a close score in this fight because I think I just passed, I just passed this test," said Wei in his post-fight interview.
