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"Crazy fight!" - Fans hyped for former world champs Hiroki Akimoto and Ilias Ennahachi's collision in Bangkok

Former ONE kickboxing world champions Hiroki Akimoto and Ilias Ennahachi will fight each other in a bantamweight bout at ONE Friday Fights 81 on September 27 inside the iconic Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.

Ennahachi, who once ruled the flyweight kickboxing landscape, will move up 10 pounds to Akimoto's bantamweight kickboxing division in a titanic clash that could be the fight of the night.

Check out the official fight graphic below as shared by ONE on Instagram.

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Instagram Post

Fans shared their thoughts in the comments section, which can be read below:

"Former champ vs former champ les go"
"Nooooo wayyyyy two of favorite fighters in kickboxing!!!! Crazy fight!"
"This is what I call a good matchmaking!"
"This is a great match up. 50-50 chance, but will be rooting for Akimoto 🔥"
"Man I've been waiting [for] this return from Ennahachi 🤌🏻"
"@iliasennahachi ❤️🇲🇦🔥🔥 the champ"
"Let's Gooooo @hirc_a_16 🇯🇵🥊🔥🔥 Bantamweight kickboxing division starting to heat up"

Unbeaten through four fights under the ONE banner, this bout will be Ennahachi's first fight in over a year, as his last fight came in February 2023.

As for the former bantamweight kickboxing king Akimoto, he will look to return to his winning ways after falling short to Wei Rui and Petchtanonng Petchfergus in his last two outings.


Kickboxing megastar also set to return at ONE Friday Fights 81

Alongside the action-packed duel between Ennahachi and Akimoto, Japanese flyweight kickboxing megastar Takeru Segawa will return at ONE Friday Fights 81.

'The Natural Born Crusher' will take on Thailand's Black Panther in a flyweight kickboxing bout after taking the past few months to recover from his all-out war against flyweight kickboxing king Superlek Kiatmoo9 this past January.

ONE Friday Fights 81 is available live on pay-per-view at watch.onefc.com.

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