Former ONE Lightweight MMA World Champion Shinya Aoki’s return to action this past weekend at ONE 165 was far from conventional.
“Tobikan Judan” competed in Tokyo, Japan, for the first time in almost four years this past Sunday, 28 January, taking on former ONE Bantamweight MMA World Champion John Lineker in an openweight MMA matchup.
But that wasn’t the original plan.
Mere hours before the showdown, Aoki was scheduled to lock horns with Sage Northcutt in a lightweight MMA contest. That was until the American withdrew from the fight due to his team’s visa issues.
Lineker’s handiwork presented problems of its own on such short notice, but when it was all said and done, the Japanese icon sunk in a rear-naked choke to cinch the victory three minutes into the first round.
“I want to say that I’m really satisfied with my performance. Within my career, today was the first time ever that I lost an opponent (before the fight), and I was on the verge of tears. But then I had to pinch right back into fight mode for a different opponent,” Aoki said.
“But at the end of the day, I can say that I displayed a great show of martial arts and got the job done.”
At 40-years-old, there aren’t many bouts ahead of Aoki. And as far as he sees it, every outing counts.
Fortunately for the grappling master, the noble win ended a four-fight losing streak for him across MMA and submission grappling. That is to say, the victory has given Aoki some much-needed confidence.
The MMA great is widely regarded as one of the best Japanese talents in combat sports history. But with so many miles on the clock in the all-encompassing sport, Aoki remains unsure of how much longer he can continue chasing the dragon in 4-ounce gloves.
“In order to compete at this level, I had to train every day, so hard, and I was very strict with myself as I was preparing to fight Sage Northcutt, who really is one of the top fighters,” he said.
“And being 40 years old, I honestly don’t know how long I can keep this up. I’d still like to keep competing, but not at this top level.”
