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Wei Rui's ONE Championship debut couldn't have gone any better after beating former bantamweight kickboxing world champion Hiroki Akimoto at ONE Fight Night 22 over the weekend. However, given the extremely close nature of the three-round war, some pundits are questioning if the Chinese star deserved the split decision victory.
Even Wei Rui was admittedly nervous after the final bell. The 32-year-old was uncertain if he'd get his hand raised in a match that felt like it could have gone either way.
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China's first-ever K-1 world champion said in his post-event interview:
"To be honest, I believe the decisions should be made by the judges. So, before they announced the results I wasn't 100 percent confident that I would win. But I still believe everything went well for me to get that victory."
Watch the full interview:
Wei Rui and Hiroki Akimoto's technical battle was indeed the closest match on the stacked card. Both world-class athletes seemed evenly matched and each had their moments throughout the bout.
If it was a five-round affair, maybe we would have gotten a more decisive ending.
For now, Wei Rui is not letting the detractors take away his hard-fought achievement and is enjoying the spoils of his victory.
The replay of ONE Fight Night 22 is free on demand for Prime Video subscribers in the United States and Canada.
Wei Rui says he's ready to challenge Jonathan Haggerty
After getting his feet wet in the world's largest martial arts organization, Wei Rui is ready for his next challenge.
The Sanda specialist just took out the No.1-ranked fighter in the division and believes he's due for a world title shot.
In the same interview, Wei challenged reigning ONE bantamweight kickboxing world champion Jonathan Haggerty:
"I think I am qualified to be the next belt challenger. Because, as you know, Hiroki used to be the champion in this field, and I beat him. That means I can definitely come [for] the belt."
