Hiroki Akimoto reveals the pressure he was under during ONE 172 bout against John Lineker: “There would be no next time”

Hiroki Akimoto admitted he was under tremendous pressure when he took on fellow former world champion John Lineker in ONE Championship's return to Japan.

The Japanese star secured a razor-close split decision win over the former ONE bantamweight MMA world champion in their bantamweight kickboxing showdown at ONE 172 this Sunday at the hallowed Saitama Super Arena.

The win was a massive reprieve for Akimoto after hitting a rough patch in his past three fights in ONE Championship.

Taking to Instagram, the former ONE bantamweight kickboxing world champion felt that losing to Lineker could jeopardize his position in ONE Championship's volatile kickboxing landscape.

Hiroki Akimoto posted:

"I thought that if we lost this match, there would be no next time, so I'm glad we won for now. My performance wasn't very good, I still have a lot of issues to work on, but I'll work on them one by one and play my best game again."

The fight between Lineker and Akimoto was as close as any, with both fighters establishing their offense throughout the three-round tiff.

Akimoto, though, had better distance management with his kicks and partially negated Lineker's wild looping hooks from close range.

Despite facing constant pressure, Akimoto found the button and tagged the Lineker with a surgical knee to the chin that nearly knocked the Brazilian brawler down late in the second round.

Akimoto knew Lineker would close the distance in the third, and he resorted to using his crippling knee strikes to stop the former bantamweight MMA king's advances in the third round, eventually securing the split decision win.

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Hiroki Akimoto part of stellar Japanese cast at ONE 172

ONE 172 wasn't just ONE Championship's highly anticipated return to Japan, but it was also a showcase of Japanese martial arts talent.

Of the card's 13 fights, 11 featured Japanese fighters, with Hiroki Akimoto being one of them.

ONE 172 had the unofficial label of "Japan vs. The World," and the Japanese fighters produced highlight reel wins in front of their home fans.

The Japanese fighters went a remarkable 8-3 in their matches, with two world titles staying in their country.

Yuya Wakamatsu captured the vacant ONE flyweight MMA world title when he stopped old nemesis Adriano Moraes, while Masaaki Noiri shocked the world when he knocked out ONE featherweight Muay Thai world champion Tawanchai PK Saenchai for the ONE interim featherweight kickboxing world title.