Former K-1 champion, WLF champion and Glory of Heroes champion Wei Rui will challenge Jonathan Haggerty for the ONE Bantamweight Kickboxing title at ONE 171 in Qatar this Thursday, February 20th.
It has been ten years since he won his first belt in his career, the WLF 63 kg World Kung Fu Champion in 2015. Beyond Kickboxing’s Silver Tang had an interview with Wei Rui on the fight and his journey as a fighter.
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During the past decade, Wei Rui successfully completed transitioning from his role as an excellent fighter to an outstanding coach. He guided Liu Ce to win the K-1 Openweight Eight-Man Grand Prix and the Cruiserweight title, and Han Wenbao to claim the WLF 67 kg World Kung Fu Championship title and 70 kg runner-up spot.
Meanwhile, new stars are rising in his team — Zhao Chongyang and Wei Weiyang have already made it into the top 10 of the Beyond Kickboxing Rankings, while up-and-coming fighters like Han Tianxiang and Zhou Jiaqiang are promising prospects. Wei Rui expressed his willingness of bringing more good fighters from his team, XiaoQi, to the world.
UPCOMING FIGHT WITH JONATHAN HAGGERTY
Talking about his upcoming fight with Jonathan Haggerty, Wei Rui is pretty composed. Perhaps this is a change brought about by his new identity as a coach. In contrast to the grandiose statements before his fights, he now prefers to analyzing his opponent calmly. He told us, "He is not fierce, but dangerous. We need to be careful of his strikes, speed, and aggression. Most of his finishes come out of nowhere." He also added that Haggerty is an excellent fighter who excels at suddenly striking after shifting stances, disrupting opponents' rhythm and creating a comfortable position for himself. But Wei Rui said he has fully prepared for this, "Me myself, and my team have fully prepared for Haggerty’s techniques, and I’ve got my own strategy to face him. Let’s see!", said by Wei Rui.
The fight against Jonathan Haggerty will take place at 65.8 kg in the bantamweight division, this is the highest weight class Wei Rui has ever competed through his career. Previously, most of his fights were in the 63 kg or lower divisions. However, Wei Rui doesn't see this as a problem: "Haggerty also moved up from a lower weight class, even smaller than mine. But for fighters with great techniques like us, the difficulty is being outrun in speed. Even if the opponent is physically larger, we can still control the fight through mobility, speed, and accuracy."
In China, besides his famous nickname "Demon Blade," Wei Rui also goes by another one—the "King of Control." He has already anticipated all the possibility about the upcoming fight, and ready to take the control of the pace, speed, and flow of the entire fight.
OUTLOOK ON ONE 171
Regarding the ONE 171 event, Wei Rui, with a smile on his face, shared that he finds the event's match design quite smart. Before his title fight with Haggerty, there will be a high ranking matchup in the bantamweight division between Ilias Ennahachi and Petchtanong, where the winner is likely to become the future champion challenger. Whoever wins between Wei Rui and Haggerty will soon face this victor. He personally likes this setup, as it’s similar to the eight-man tournaments he has previously participated in, where the outcome of the previous fight will impact the fighters' mindset going into the next.
When it comes to the challenger fight, Wei Rui favored Petchtanong, saying, “He’s really strong. I have a strong feeling that I'll soon fight Petchtanong.”
POTENTIAL ON ONE MUAY THAI
Wei Rui also expressed his great interest in ONE Championship’s current Muay Thai fight: "Anyone in combat sports will appreciate the knockout moments ONE Muay Thai brings to us. 4 oz gloves greatly speed up the fight rhythm, making the fight more like a stand-up MMA match.
Even techniques that aren't traditionally Muay Thai can be thrilling." He mentioned that if everything goes smoothly in his next fight, he'd be interested in trying out the 4 oz gloves fights. "I'm not great at Muay Thai clinch work, but I can see I will enjoy the rules and format.”
UNDENIABLE PASSION FOR MARTIAL ARTS
Wei Rui’s passion for martial arts is undeniable. As we asked him, as a fight having already proven himself in the combat sport with brilliant achievements and now being the leader of China’s most rapidly rising fight team, Xiao Qi , why does he continue to fight?
His response came in 2020, during the global COVID-19 pandemic, when the fight industry took a massive hit. During that period, he lowered his fight purse and opted to compete in WLF’s domestic circuit. As the most accomplished and well-known fighter, he became the target everyone aimed to defeat to make a name for themselves. This added excitement to that year’s competition and provided a boost to Chinese kickboxing during challenging times.
That year, he defeated Wang Pengfei, Liu Xiangming, Jia Aoqi, and Jin Ying to claim the King’s Super Cup. Reflecting on his victory, he said, “I believe persistence always means something. After all, everyone likes me,” flashing a bright smile.
In this sport, where you face pain head-on, only the most straightforward and pure love for the sport can keep you moving forward, never stopping.
