Hiroki Akimoto was born on August 31, 1992, in Toyota, Aichi Prefecture, Japan. Both of his parents were instructors at the Shichishu-Kai martial arts school, and after a conflict at school, he began training seriously at the age of eight. He earned a black belt in Kyokushin karate and later broadened his arsenal with full-contact karate, Muay Thai, and kickboxing.
Before joining ONE Championship, Akimoto built an impressive undefeated record of 19 consecutive kickboxing victories in Japan and captured multiple Japanese titles, including the WBC Muay Thai Japan Featherweight Championship. In 2018, he moved to Singapore to join Evolve MMA, one of Asia’s most renowned martial arts academies.
In March 2022, Akimoto defeated Thai star Capitan Petchyindee at ONE X to become the ONE Bantamweight Kickboxing World Champion. The achievement earned him a $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus and was named Fight of the Year 2022 by Beyond Kick. However, he lost the title again in November of that same year. In the years that followed, he mounted a comeback with victories over the likes of John Lineker and Wei Rui in 2025, as well as a close unanimous decision win over Taimu Hisai earlier in 2026, fighting his way back to number-one contender status in his division.
On October 17, 2026, at ONE SAMURAI 4 at Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Akimoto will get his long-awaited chance to reclaim the title against reigning champion Jonathan “The General” Haggerty, who is undefeated in ONE kickboxing bouts and won the title in November 2023. Akimoto is confident in a potential slugfest and has publicly stated that he still regards Haggerty “as a Muay Thai fighter” despite his recent success in the kickboxing format.
Akimoto is trained by coaches at Evolve MMA in Singapore. His parents were instructors at Shichishu-Kai and guided his early karate training.
Japan
