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Wei Rui wanted to make a statement in his ONE Championship debut. Despite getting the win, there are still some questions to be answered.
The Chinese megastar arrived in the promotion and drew a tough task straight out the gate with a fight that could have serious implications for the bantamweight kickboxing division.
Former divisional king Hiroki Akimoto had been away from competition ever since he lost the title back in 2022 and he was set to return to welcome a new challenger to the division's ranks.
The fight itself was extremely competitive, and while it was the debutant who got his hand raised via unanimous decision, the verdict has been heavily debated ever since the scores were read out inside the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
For the winner, his focus is now turning to his next performance where he hopes to secure a win that doesn't come with any added controversy.
Wei Rui told Nick Atkin in an interview for Sportskeeda MMA that he will look to silence any doubters next time out:
"I will use my performance in the next fight to show that I am the winner definitely."
Watch the full interview below:
Wei Rui could have the ultimate opportunity to do so next time out
A win over Hiroki Akimoto could be enough to put Wei Rui right into the front of the title picture, but with the contentious decision verdict, this remains to be seen.
A lot of people have been calling for a rematch after the controversy. Whilst the former K-1 world champion could be looking to move on rather than retreading the same ground, a second dance could be the perfect opportunity for him to answer some of the questions that are still hanging over this fight.
The Chinese contender will undoubtedly be able to move on from this chapter if he is able to beat Akimoto for a second time.
North American viewers with an active Prime Video subscription can rewatch the entire ONE Fight Night 22 card via the free event replay.
