Hiroki Akimoto unfazed to go toe-to-toe with 'great' Wei Rui: "It'll be up to me to find the holes and get the win"

Hiroki Akimoto is gearing up to make a long-awaited return at ONE Fight Night 22, where he will finally step foot back inside the ring once again.

The former ONE bantamweight kickboxing world champion has been inactive ever since he lost his title back in 2022.

His road to securing the gold once again begins on May 3 when he steps into the iconic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium to take on a new face in the promotion.

China's Wei Rui has built an impressive career as a former K-1 world champion and could make a big impact on his ONE debut by taking out a competitor like Akimoto.

However, whilst he gives his opponent a lot of respect and credit, Akimoto believes that just like every competitor, his opponent is beatable.

The former champion previewed the fight in an interview with Nick Atkin for Sportskeeda MMA where he stated that he will exploit his opponent's weaknesses on fight night:

"My opponent Wei Rui has a great record. He's been on a winning streak. And he fights great too, always coming for the knockout. But he's also a human too, he has weaknesses as well. So it'll be up to me to find the holes and get the win."

Watch the full interview below:

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Hiroki Akimoto is never far from a title shot

This fight is always going to have big stakes behind it thanks to the position that Hiroki Akimoto finds himself in as a former champion.

A bounce back win on May 3 could see the Japanese fighter go right back into title contention for the belt that he previously held.

At the same time, a debut win for Wei Rui over an opponent of that stature could be the perfect start to life in ONE Championship for him.

Expect to see the best of both men at Lumpinee given the impact that this fight could have on the bantamweight kickboxing division.

ONE Fight Night 22 will air live and free at US prime time for North American viewers with an active Prime Video subscription.