Rui Wei Vows to Improve Upon Showing in ONE Championship Debut

Chinese kickboxing phenom Rui Wei wasn’t very impressed with his own performance at his recent ONE Championship debut.

Wei made his promotional debut in a bantamweight (145-pound) tilt against Hiroki Akimoto at One on Prime Video 22 on May 3. Wei earned a controversial unanimous decision win over Akimoto, which should have gone the other way, according to ONE Championship CEO Chatri Sityodtong.

Wei admits his ONE Championship debut wasn’t his best night at the office, and he wasn’t sure of the win before his name was announced. Wei has vowed to put on a better showing next time.

“I think I just passed this test,” Wei said at the post-fight press conference. “I [will] try my best to adjust to the ring in ONE Championship. And I feel like next time, I will perform better… ‌Before they announced the result, I wasn't 100 percent confident that I would win. But I still believed everything went well for me to get the victory… This is my debut in ONE Championship, and I think it wasn’t really [my best showing]. But I’m super motivated now. I will continue to focus on training and I will try harder the next time. I will be back.”

While Wei has racked up an impressive kickboxing record on the regional scene, the Chinese star acknowledged the step up in competition he had to face in Akimoto.

“I think Hiroki is a very tough, strong, opponent,” he said. “As you all know, his kicks and his attacks are always crazy and powerful, and compared to my other opponents before, I feel [it’s a harder matchup] with this kind of opponent. He did a lot of crazy things. But he didn’t really dominate the fight as you could see him struggling, he can’t fight at my pace and I’m always unpredictable. That is also my greatest technique.”

Despite admittedly being unimpressed by his own performance, Wei believes a win over the former ONE Championship bantamweight kickboxing champ warrants a title shot next.

“Yes, definitely,” he said. “I think I am qualified to be the next belt challenger. Because, as you know, Hiroki used to be the champion, and I beat him. That means I can definitely [challenge for] the belt… Challenging the champion, of course, is not an easy thing to do. I have to prepare a lot, and I think, in the next stage, I will focus on my training. I will follow a long-term, systematic training plan.”