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ONE Championship's grappling legend and former lightweight champion Shinya Aoki is not the kind of man you want messing with your neck. Chances are, he'll take it home with him. James Nakashima learned this the hard way when he faced Aoki last year at ONE: Unbreakable. Ironically, the night ended with 'Tobikan Judan' nearly breaking Nakashima's neck.
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The fight started with Aoki uncharacteristically assuming a Muay Thai stance and throwing a lot of switch kicks. If you've been following MMA for the past decade, you'd know that Aoki heavily favors grappling almost to the detriment of the other areas of the game. Him throwing kicks is a rarity.
Just when the American got comfortable throwing strikes, that's when Aoki ducked under a hook and proceeded to work inside the clinch. Soon after that, Aoki slid to the back and controlled Nakashima until het got his arm around his chin.
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As per the proper rear-naked choke technique, one has to have their arm around the opponent's neck to finish it. Aoki, however, doesn't need that as his vice-grip alone can generate enough torque and power to break someone's neck. Nakashima didn't stand a chance.
Watch the full fight here:
Former ONE Championship lightweight champion Shinya Aoki goes back to his grappling roots at ONE 157
At ONE 157, Shinya Aoki will return to his submission grappling roots inside the circle. This time around, the 38-year-old legend will be facing a legit grappling prodigy in Kade Ruotolo, one half of the famed Ruotolo Brothers.
Ruotolo is a pro jiu-jitsu fighter representing ATOS jiu-jitsu academy under ONE grappler Andre Galvao. Kade and Tye Ruotolo became jiu-jitsu's first sibling child stars.
What's absolutely incredible about the famous twins is that they've been competing and winning in pro-grappling even when they were just purple-belts. They are certified prodigies for their crazy inventive style and otherworldly athleticism that is too much to handle even for seasoned grapplers in the sport.
It'll be interesting to see how Aoki's inventive yet slow and contricting style will mesh with the frenetic pace that Ruotolo operates with. It's definitely a clash of styles and would give ONE Championship fans a great match from start to finish.
