5 biggest non-title fights we want to see in ONE in 2022

#4. A ONE super fight - Shinya Aoki vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama

Former ONE lightweight world champion Shinya Aoki has constantly sought to test his skills against the best the world has to offer. In his hunger for competition, he has compiled an astonishing 47 wins against nine losses in a career that has spanned almost two decades now.

Last October, ‘Tobikan Judan’ called out one of the most popular MMA fighters in Japan and Korea, Yoshihiro Akiyama. The 46-year-old is an accomplished martial artist in various disciplines and competed in various promotions around the world, including the UFC. His mainstream fame grew as he starred in movies and TV shows through the years.

After participating in a grappling match at Road to ONE: ‘Sexyama’ Edition in Tokyo, Japan, Aoki took to the microphone to urge Akiyama to “take the fight” against him.

Akiyama claimed that while he was willing to compete, his injuries were preventing him from doing so. Aoki pressed on by telling Akiyama that he 'doesn’t have that much time left'.

Akiyama has shown that he still has some gas left in the tank by earning a first-round knockout victory over Sherif Mohamed back in 2020. However, he’s not getting any younger and Aoki may indeed miss out on the opportunity to stand with him in the Circe if their fight doesn’t happen soon.

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#3. Clash of former ONE middleweight world champions - Aung La NSang vs. Vitaly Bigdash III

The middleweight world championship was contested twice in 2017, with Vitaly Bigdash defending the crown early in the year and Aung La NSang claiming it in a rematch months later.

The two epic battles between these two warriors led many to hope that they would break their tie, but they have since diverged in their career paths.

Bigdash lost to Leandro Ataides in 2018 to push him a bit further from world title contention. Meanwhile, ‘The Burmese Python’ moved up to light heavyweight and became a two-division world champion.

After Bigdash scored a huge win against Fan Rong at Winter Warriors II, however, he called out Aung La to finally complete their trilogy bout. While Aung La wondered why Bigdash did not instead call out the current world champion, Reinier de Ridder, he has no qualms about going up against the Russian.

Will we finally see the culmination of a rivalry that was five years in the making?