“He needs to either retire or fight smarter” - Dagi Arslanaliev comments on Shinya Aoki’s recent setbacks

Shinya Aoki is undoubtedly a mixed martial arts legend. Over the span of two decades, ‘Tobikan Judan’ has amassed a laundry list of accolades in MMA, submission grappling, and has even dabbled in professional wrestling in Japan.

As a multiple-time former ONE lightweight world champion, Aoki continues to enjoy success in the world of mixed martial arts, going 8-2 in his last 10 bouts. His work in submission grappling has been a different story as of late.

While his submission grappling bouts have been few and far between, Aoki has had mixed results. Two of his losses came via decision with the most recent bout going the distance with phenom Kade Ruotolo.

While speaking to ONE Championship, lightweight division standout Dagi Arslanaliev discussed Aoki’s recent struggles on the mat suggesting that ‘Tobikan Judan’ has gone from a legend to a “dark horse” in the ONE circle:

“For me, he is a dark horse. I know that his grappling is strong. He used to have somewhat of a legendary status, but recently, Shinya lost several bouts when trying to bring the action to the canvas.”

Arslanaliev went so far as to suggest that Aoki should consider retirement, specifically referencing his loss to former ONE Lightweight World Champion Christian Lee as a turning point in the Asian MMA legend's career:

“Maybe he needs to either retire or fight smarter. Aoki lost to Christian Lee when Christian followed him to the canvas and won. Shinya Aoki is not invincible. Nobody is.”

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Shinya Aoki has no shortage of potential opponents for his ONE circle return

While Arslanaliev may argue that Aoki has lost a step over the years, that has not kept fighters from looking to test their skills against the beloved veteran. Most recently, Sage Northcutt has called for a fight with Aoki for his long-awaited return to the ONE circle.

Northcutt was last seen under the ONE banner in May 2019 when he suffered a devastating knockout loss to Cosme Alexandre. Northcutt suffered multiple facial fractures that required more than eight hours of surgery to repair.

Moreover, slated to return in 2021 against Aoki, Northcutt was forced to withdraw due to lingering symptoms from COVID-19. He now appears ready for a return and called for a fight with ‘Tobikan Judan’ on Twitter.

Also interested in the Shinya Aoki fight business is his ONE 157 opponent Kade Ruotolo. The two competed in a highly entertaining submission grappling bout at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

While Aoki staved off Ruotolo’s submission attempts, it was Kade Ruotolo who scored the decision victory. Following the bout, Ruotolo expressed an interest in fighting Aoki, but in mixed martial arts. In his post-fight interview, Ruotolo said:

“If he’s up for it, I’d love to [face Aoki in an MMA fight]. That’d be an amazing first match for me to step foot in the MMA scene. I felt pretty dominant here tonight. And I feel like I would have the same result in MMA.”