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ONE Championship’s return to Japan this past weekend was a huge moment for one of the biggest names on the card, Shinya Aoki.
The Japanese MMA legend put on a show for all of the fans who showed up to support him when he stopped late replacement opponent John Lineker in the opening round.
It was a great scene to witness as Aoki drew the admiration of everyone in attendance inside the Ariake Arena this past Sunday, January 28, and it may have even marked the end of an era.
During the build-up to his scheduled contest with Sage Northcutt, there were questions as to whether this would be the last fight of the veteran’s acclaimed career.
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Once the dust had settled on his win, Aoki seemed to also be leaning in this direction despite never getting to face Northcutt due to Visa issues with his coaches.
The Japanese icon elaborated on the talk of his retirement during his post-fight interview, where he spoke about the dedication he puts into each training camp:
“So 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.”
Shinya Aoki went out in style if ONE 165 was his last-ever fight
If ONE 165 is to be the last time we see Shinya Aoki compete, he went out on top whilst demonstrating everything that has made him great over the years.
For starters, taking the fight against former bantamweight MMA world champion John Lineker in an extremely late notice replacement says everything you need to know about Aoki.
The fight itself provided far less drama than the build-up to January 28 as the Japanese home favorite took his opponent down and dominated the contest once it hit the ground.
Getting ‘Hands of Stone’ out of there in a completely one-sided affair may not have been the win that Aoki planned on going out on but it was certainly impressive.
Fans who missed out on any of the action from ONE 165 can watch the event back via the on-demand PPV on ONE Championship’s website.
