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Shinya Aoki submits Marat Gafurov in a ONE submission grappling match
In ONE's early foray into submission grappling, former ONE lightweight world champion and BJJ legend Shinya 'Tobikan Judan' Aoki faced former ONE featherweight king and Sambo specialist Marat 'Cobra' Gafurov.
Gafurov is one of the best known grapplers in ONE Championship, winning 12 of his 18 wins in MMA via submission.
Aoki is a legend in both jiujitsu and MMA. 'Tobikan Judan' is one of the last few "specialists" in the sport, focusing on BJJ more than any other facet of MMA. The Japanese MMA icon has recorded an impressive 30 submission wins in his career that has spanned over two decades.
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Most of the match had Aoki and Gafurov in a clinch battle against the cage. After engaging in an intense chess match on their feet, Aoki took Gafurov down and immediately took his back. From there, the Japanese grappling legend sunk in a tight rear-naked choke for the finish.
Watch the full match here:
Who we'd like to see next in this rivalry
ONE Championship's roster of jiujitsu assassins is slowly growing and its line-up of Sambo specialists is just as ripe. Though there are a few match-ups that we're interested in seeing, there's one BJJ vs. Sambo fight that we'd like to see in submission grappling: Saygid Izagakhmaev vs. Tye Ruotolo.
Yep, that's a grappler's slice of heaven right there. Ruotolo, who submitted jiujitsu legend Garry Tonon in his ONE debut, had a strong showing at ADCC this year. His frenetic and aggressive type of jiujitsu is dazzling to watch but frightening to deal with.
Izagakhmaev, protege of the legendary Khabib Nurmagomedov, is the perfect example of any Sambo or wrestling specialist originating from the Republic of Dagestan. He goes by one thing and one thing only: smash.
Just last night, the Dagestani grappler smashed his way through Zhang Lipeng en route to a dominant unanimous decision win. His unstoppable wrestling and otherworldly top pressure will surely mesh well with Ruotolo's dynamic and dizzying approach.
Both fighters are in the same weight class and having them fight in a submission grappling match in ONE Championship will surely make headlines in both MMA and Jiujitsu.
