After falling short on the judges' scorecards in his last two outings, Hiroki Akimoto doesn't plan on letting his fight go the distance when he returns at ONE Friday Fights 81 on Sept. 27.
That evening inside the revered Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, the Japanese warrior trades leather with Dutch-Moroccan dynamo Ilias Ennahachi in a bantamweight kickboxing duel, with his focus on securing victory at all cost.
The former ONE bantamweight kickboxing world champion saw his five-match winning streak hit a skid when he dropped his crown to Petchtanong Petchfergus via split decision at ONE 163. In his return to the global stage, Akimoto fell short to promotional newcomer Wei Rui, this time by a unanimous decision.
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The 32-year-old told ONE Championship recently:
"In my last fight, I thought I did well, but I lost by decision. I want to make sure the result is clear this time by scoring a knockdown or a KO."
If he can walk the talk and put the former ONE flyweight kickboxing world champion to sleep inside the Thai capital city, the Kyokushin Karate specialist will earn his first knockout inside the ONE Circle.
So far, Hiroki Akimoto has claimed six wins under the ONE banner — all by decision.
Hiroki Akimoto sizes up Ilias Ennahachi test at ONE Friday Fights 81
Although he has one eye set on knocking out Ennahachi, Hiroki Akimoto knows it'll be far easier said than done.
To stand a better chance of getting it done early inside the Mecca of Muay Thai this Friday, Hiroki Akimoto has cut no corners as he told ONE Championship in the same interview:
"I think we'll need to be quick with footwork and movement at a distance, which is something I'm good at. I believe it will be an entertaining fight for the audience."
ONE Friday Fights 81 will be available via pay-per-view at watch.onefc.com in Asia primetime on Friday, September 27.