SHANGHAI, April 6, 2024 – Renowned Chinese fighter Wei Rui will make his ONE Championship debut at "ONE: Pinnacle Series 22" on 4 May. He'll face former Bantamweight Kickboxing World Champion and current top-ranked Japanese fighter Hiroki Akimoto in a bantamweight kickboxing bout.
Wei Rui signed with ONE Championship last month, and with a desire to put Chinese martial arts at the top of the world pyramid, he can't wait to step into the ring and show what he's capable of. In 2017, Wei Rui won the K-1 62.5kg gold belt in one night three times in Japan, creating a history of Chinese K-1 winning the championship. He went on to win trophies and was named the 2020 Male Player of the Year in the World by Combat Press.
With an excellent record and excellent strength, Wei Rui faced the No. 1 in the division in his ONE debut. Wei Rui: "It was very challenging for me to arrange a strong opponent in the first game! I was excited and peaceful, and I was excited that my opponent was Akimoto Haogui, and the peaceful thing was that I had proven myself in China to be the highest level and the highest honor, so this time I just went all out to fight!"
Chinese fans are familiar with Akimoto, as he has twice defeated China's Zhang Chenglong and defeated Qiu Jianliang "The Tank" Qiu Jianliang, who is still undefeated against China. The WFKO Karate World Champion continued to progress in the kickboxing arena, impressing with his versatile punch and kick combinations, fluid transitions, and tireless strikes, and dominated the bantamweight kickboxing division for a time by defeating Capitan Petchyindee.
Akimoto also has a high opinion of Wei Rui: "I know what Wei Rui has achieved in K-1. It's an incredible achievement and shows that he is truly one of the best fighters in China, and I'm thrilled to be fighting such an outstanding fighter." I've beaten the Chinese in ONE before, and I'm going to be ready to win this time. But his championship accomplishments don't put me under pressure because he's won the K-1 title and I've won the ONE title, which will motivate me to win the fight and get the right to challenge for the title again. ”
Wei Rui also did targeted research on Qiu Yuan Haogui. "Akimoto Haogui is undefeated against China, his style of play is fierce and clean, and he is very ornamental. He's beaten China's top player, my good brother Qiu Jianliang, and my fellow countryman Zhang Chenglong. Although the opponent is strong, Wei Rui is full of confidence in winning. "Compared to my opponents, my first advantage is mentality, and the second is some technical restraint!" This match means a lot to Wei Rui, if he can beat the No. 1 in his debut, he can not only break Akimoto's undefeated record against China, but also close to the title challenge.