Shinya Aoki is eternal, or at least he seems to be. The former One lightweight champion is nowhere close to retirement and he made it known at ONE Championship 126 MMA event which went down in Singapore on Friday.
The Japanese MMA legend proved once again that he was still one of the very best lightweight fighters on the planet. Aoki (46-9) was facing the up-and-coming James Nakashima (12-2). Aoki was in complete control of the fight in the first round. He quickly forced a clinch before landing a couple of good punches and immediately taking Nakashima’s back.
He quickly snatched a rear-naked choke and finished Nakashima at 2m42s of the very first round. This was Aoki’s 30th submission victory in One Championship, making him the all-time submission leader in the promotion. It also marks his third consecutive win after losing the title to Christian Lee in May of 2019.
The former welterweight champion Zebaztian Kadestam on the other hand had a night that he’d rather forget. His opponent Gadzhimurad Abdulaev (6-0) was simply too overwhelming. He got an early takedown and quickly advanced to a back take. He then switched from a rear-naked choke to a neck crank and applied pressure until Kadestam tapped.
