“That’s a hell of a replacement” – Garry Tonon tips his hat off to Shinya Aoki for accepting John Lineker war at the buzzer

Garry Tonon has nothing but respect for former ONE lightweight MMA world champion Shinya Aoki after he accepted a last-minute offer to fight John Lineker at ONE 165.

‘Tobikan Judan’ was scheduled to face Sage Northcutt at ONE Championship’s hotly anticipated return to Japan, but the American superstar withdrew moments before their lightweight MMA war.

It didn’t take long for ONE Championship to find a replacement, with John Lineker being a backup option should one of the fights inside the Ariake Arena fall apart.

While ‘Hands of Stone’ stepping up was something of equal importance, accepting a fight against a man with a proven track record of putting opponents to sleep held similar weight.

Speaking to Sportskeeda MMA after his win over Martin Nguyen, Garry Tonon said:

“Man, Lineker stepping in at the last minute. That’s a hell of a replacement. I mean props to Shinya Aoki for accepting that replacement.”

He added:

“I mean, I don't know if I can say that I would do the same if my opponent pulled out and they were like, ‘Yeah, Lineker is going to take his place.’ I'd be like, ‘Let's talk about that' as it's a dangerous fight man.”

Watch the full interview here:

Despite the shift, both men treated the audience to a show inside the Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan. Unfortunately for Lineker, he succumbed to a rear-naked choke inside the opening stanza, which earned the Japanese MMA legend his 48th career win.

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ONE 165: Garry Tonon pushes himself into the world title mix

For his part, Garry Tonon potentially earned his spot as the next challenger in line after an easy night out against Martin Nguyen in Tokyo, Japan.

The top-ranked contender kept a stronghold on his spot by forcing ‘The Situ-Asian’ to tap into a rear-naked choke at the 4:41 mark of their featherweight tie. The 32-year-old now boasts an impressive 9-1 resume with eight finishes.

And once Thanh Le and Tang Kai get their ONE featherweight MMA world title unification clash out of the window, it is pretty straightforward for all to see who deserves another run at 26 pounds of gold.

ONE Championship fans can rewatch all the action from ONE 165 via the on-demand replay available at watch.onefc.com.