Hiroki Akimoto prepared to face Ilias Ennahachi’s ‘incredibly strong’ power at bantamweight: “Looking forward to it”

Former ONE bantamweight world champion Hiroki Akimoto expects Ilias Ennahachi to pack a punch when he makes his divisional debut this Friday night at ONE Friday Fights 81.

After dominating the competition as the former ONE flyweight kickboxing king — including an impressive victory over now two-sport king Superlek Kiatmoo9 in 2021 — Ennahachi will move up to bantamweight where he meets a determined Akimoto inside the legendary Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.

Looking ahead to their scrap in the Mecca of Muay Thai, Hiroki Akimoto expects Ennahachi to still have his signature speed and well-roundedness while seeing a significant uptick in power in his new division.

"I think he's incredibly strong," Hiroki told ONE Championship. "He's a very well-rounded kickboxer and a good fighter. He has speed, and after moving up in weight class, he's gained power too. I'm really looking forward to it."

While Akimoto carries an impressive 26-3 record in his combat sports career, he finds himself in an unfamiliar position, looking to bounce back from back-to-back losses for the first time in his career.

---

Hiroki Akimoto expects an exciting back-and-forth war against Ilias Ennahachi

Hiroki Akimoto sees his fight against Ilias Ennahachi as a must-win situation. But, whether or not he comes out on top in The Land of Smiles, the Japanese superstar knows that their fight will deliver some fan-friendly action.

"I think we'll need to be quick with footwork and movement at a distance, which is something I'm good at," Hiroki Akimoto said. "I believe it will be an entertaining fight for the audience.

He added:

"We've also practiced close-range exchanges thoroughly, so I think it will be an interesting fight with quick entries and exits and exchanges."

Ennahachi goes into his fifth career fight with the promotion boasting an unbeaten 4-0 record, including wins over Petchdam Petchyindee, Wang Wenfeng, Aliasghar Ghodratisaraskan, and the aforementioned Superlek.

ONE Friday Fights 81 will air live and exclusively on pay-per-view on Friday, Sept. 27 at Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand. You can purchase the event exclusively on the official ONE Championship website.