“Never count him out” - Shinya Aoki proves he’s as legendary as ever with submission win over John Lineker

Decorated combat sports figure Shinya Aoki was set to fight Sage Northcutt in a high-profile matchup on the undercard of ONE 165 on Sunday, January 28.

However, Northcutt withdrew from the bout, and with the bout in threat of being removed entirely, former ONE bantamweight MMA world champion John Lineker stepped in at the 11th hour to face ‘Tobikan Judan’.

With no training camp for the bout, it would have been easy to count out Lineker’s chances at victory thanks to that and the massive height difference, but ‘Hands of Stone’ was proven that he can live up to his moniker at will.

Despite a spirited effort from Lineker, Aoki’s grappling was simply too much to overcome as he lost via rear-naked choke. Fans were quick to give credit to the pair via ONE Championship’s Instagram:

“Wow, never count him out.”

“Hats off to Lineker jumping in last minute.”

“Respect to Lineker, big size difference”

“Sage would have [suffered] the same fate. Aoki is just domination

“Just couldn’t stand the ground game. Well done Aoki”

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Shinya Aoki snaps losing streak, gets performance bonus at ONE 165

The two-time ONE lightweight MMA world champion desperately needed a win as his last victory was over three years ago, when he finished Filipino rival Eduard Folayang via submission.

Immediately after defeating Folayang, Aoki was made to feel the effects of Father Time as he went on a four-fight losing streak against Yoshihiro Akiyama, Saygid Izagakhmaev, and ONE submission grappling world champions Kade Ruotolo and Mikey Musumeci.

Defeating Lineker was a massive return to form for the Japanese legend and ONE Championship awarded him with a $50,000 performance bonus - the fourth of six fighters to receive the coveted bonus at ONE 165.