Mikey Musumeci says it’s an honor to use the Aoki Lock on its ‘creator’ Shinya Aoki: “This is one of my biggest wins”

The student became the master at ONE Fight Night 15 last weekend. Mikey Musumeci once again left plenty of jaws on the floor when he submitted the legendary Shinya Aoki inside Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok.

Apart from beating an opponent much bigger than him, the reigning ONE flyweight submission grappling world champion did it in style, when he used Aoki’s own signature move against him.

Musumeci caught the Japanese icon with the ‘Aoki Lock’, a modified version of the straight ankle lock.

Aoki’s creative twist to it essentially makes it an inside heel hook since it contorts the legs in an outright direction.

The 40-year-old Japanese superstar, though, found himself on the receiving end of the painful hold courtesy of ‘Darth Rigatoni’.

Post-match, Mikey Musumeci credited Shinya Aoki for inspiring him throughout his decorated career in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

Before he became arguably one of the biggest stars in grappling under the ONE banner, the American prodigy was a five-time IBJJF World Champion. The bulk of Musumeci’s wins came from his favorite straight ankle lock/'Aoki Lock' combination.

He told reporters during his ONE Fight Night 15 post-event interview:

“This is one of my biggest wins, I would say, for the fact that I did one of my favorite positions in modern jujitsu, the Aoki Lock, on Shinya, the creator of the position. [It’s] a position that I used when I competed in the gi and won many world titles is the straight foot lock. And a variation of the straight foot lock is the Aoki Lock.”

Musumeci indeed showcased technical mastery of the technique when he trapped Aoki’s toes in his armpit and fell towards his shoulder. The former ONE featherweight MMA world champion tapped in no time and also gave his respect to Musumeci in the process.

‘Darth Rigatoni’ added:

“So I feel like the mastery of this position, you can’t get more mastery of the position than doing it on the creator of the position, right?”

Relieve Mikey Musumeci’s brilliant finish by watching the replay of ONE Fight Night 15, which is available on ONE Championship’s official YouTube page.

Watch Mikey Musumeci's full interview below: