ONE Championship has created a ton of memorable moments for fans thanks to having some of the best combat sports athletes on their roster, though none may be more prolific than that of Shinya Aoki.
‘Tobikan Judan’ has had 21 bouts throughout his ONE Championship career and at age 40, his career and legacy in the world of combat sports is as established as many of the greats throughout the world.
With Father Time being undefeated, the former two-time ONE lightweight MMA world champion will have one last chance to go out on top of the mountain as he faces American star Sage Northcutt at ONE 165 at the Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan on January 28, 2024.
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In a recent press conference held by the world’s largest martial arts organization, ONE Championship chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong spoke about Aoki’s greatness:
“Shinya is truly one of the greatest mixed martial artists in the history of Japan. A legend with over 50 fights. Vast majority of his wins are by submission. One of the most dangerous grapplers in MMA history.”
Previewing the Shinya Aoki - Sage Northcutt bout
Of his 21 bouts in ONE, Aoki has been in the winner’s circle for 13 of them with victories over the likes of Ev Ting, Marat Gafurov, and eternal rival Eduard Folayang twice.
As for Northcutt, he is coming off a massive submission win over Ahmed Mujtaba after being laid off for nearly four years due to many injuries.
‘Super’ previously noted that he was prepared to fight Aoki in a special rules bout, though their ONE 165 match is a straight-up MMA bout.
When it comes to who he wants to face next, Northcutt shared that he was open to the possibility of fighting Folayang sometime down the line.
The Northcutt-Aoki bout was originally scheduled for 2021, but Northcutt was forced off the card due to lingering effects from COVID-19 and the excitement built then is set to come to a head for the January card.