Mikey Musumeci says Shinya Aoki didn’t mind getting submitted with the ‘Aoki Lock’: “He thought the gesture was respectful”

A passing of the torch moment occurred at ONE Fight Night 15 last month when Mikey Musumeci submitted Shinya Aoki in their open-weight grappling showdown.

Making it more impressive was the reigning ONE flyweight submission grappling king’s brilliant use of Aoki’s signature move, ‘The Aoki Lock’.

The student soon became the master, as Musumeci performed the modified heel hook technique to perfection, forcing the Japanese icon to yield in pain.

Fan reactions were actually split after the bout. Most raved about Musumeci’s insane technique and lauded him for submitting the architect of the submission with his own creation.

Some select few, however, thought it was a tad disrespectful for the five-time IBJJF world champion to use Aoki’s move against him.

Musumeci recently cleared the air in a Sports Illustrated interview, where he discussed what went down between him and ‘Tobikan Judan’ after the match.

Contrary to what others perceived, Aoki was actually grateful to Musumeci for using the ‘Aoki Lock’ on the grand stage. After all, it proved the technique’s effectiveness at the highest level, especially since the American performed it to its creator.

“After the fight, he thanked me for using the move. To me, that shows his contribution to martial arts. He thought the gesture was respectful. That’s how I intended it. It was a really cool moment.”

Apart from being arguably one of the best grapplers in the world today, Mikey Musumeci is no doubt one of the nicest guys in all of combat sports.

The Evolve MMA standout simply wanted to honor the legendary Aoki by using his move, and he even got the master’s seal of approval for it.

The replay of ONE Fight Night 15 is available anytime on demand for Amazon Prime Video subscribers in the United States and Canada.