'Demon Blade' Wei Rui says nothing has changed in his quest for a world title in ONE Championship, regardless of his controversial win over former ONE bantamweight kickboxing world champion Hiroki Akimoto of Japan last weekend. On Prime Video, the two elite strikers went head-to-head at ONE Fight Night 22: Sundell vs. Diachkova.
The event took place live from the iconic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, on Saturday, May 4th.
Wei battled Akimoto for three hard rounds, going back and forth with the division's former kingpin. In the end, all three judges scored the bout in favor of 'Demon Blade' to win by unanimous decision.
However, many fans and experts believe Akimoto did more than enough to win the fight. Needless to say, it was a close decision that could have gone either way.
Speaking to Sportskeeda MMA in an exclusive interview, Wei talked about his win over Akimoto and said he would not mind taking on the Japanese fighter again if it would guarantee him a shot at the gold.
'Demon Blade' said:
"The reason I am here with ONE Championship is I want to get the belt. That is my goal, so if he wants to challenge me again, the only reason would be because he held the belt."
Fans in the United States and Canada can catch the action of ONE Fight Night 22 via replay on-demand on Amazon Prime Video.
Wei Rui says 'confident' Hiroki Akimoto is wrong about claiming to win the fight: "It's not the case"
Chinese star Wei Rui disagrees with Hiroki Akimoto and says he is the rightful winner of their contest.
He told Sportskeeda MMA:
"It's fair for everyone to have their own thoughts. Of course he would think he's the best, and he should win. It's a good thing he is confident in himself. But in my opinion it's not the case."