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Former ONE lightweight champion Shinya Aoki is readying for his highly-anticipated matchup with Saygid Izagakhmaev at ONE 163. Ahead of the matchup, 'Tobikan Judan' shared who his biggest rival has been since joining the promotion a decade ago.
Over the years, Aoki has shared the circle with the likes of Kotetsu Boku, Eduard Folayang, Ben Askren, Christian Lee, and many others. Needless to say, the 39-year-old has taken on the world's best throughout his long-tenured career.
With all of those high-profile fights, many would assume that Aoki has built rivalries with some of those foes. However, he has a different outlook, as he told ONE:
"There are no rivalries in this game. That’s only what you see on the outside. In reality, my biggest rival is myself. Every fight, I compete with myself and try to be the best that I can be, be better than I was last time, and do more than I think I can do."
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The Japanese MMA legend may not have a particular rival, but he's no stranger to fighting the sport's biggest names. He's next set to face the No. 4-ranked lightweight at ONE 163.
Shinya Aoki vs. Saygid Izagakhmaev at ONE 163
Aoki, who is coming off back-to-back losses (one in submission grappling), won't get the benefit of an "easy" fight to get back on track. To that point, he said:
“After losing my last two fights, I thought I would get a bit of an easier fight so that I could get back on the winning track again. But as you can see, I got such a tough fight offer. This kind of tough fight is a very rare case in Japan right now. If I was Mikuru Asakura, I would not have accepted the fight offer.”
Izagakhmaev boasts a 21-2 professional MMA record, with two straight victories since joining ONE earlier in 2022. The Russian talent can cap off an incredible year with a win over former champ Aoki.
Fans can tune in on November 19 to see Shinya Aoki face off against Saygid Izagakhmaev at ONE 163, live from Singapore Indoor Stadium.
Check out Shinya Aoki's top-five ONE finishes below:
