Dubai: Japanese champion Shinya Aoki is confident of keeping his world crown when he makes his Dubai debut at the Reign of Champions to be held at the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) on August 29.
One FC’s Reign of Champions is set to be the biggest event in Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) history in the region with three World Championship title belts on offer in the nine-card fight next Saturday.
Lightweight World Champion Aoki, fighting from the Evolve Fight Team, will make his first title defence against veteran Kamal Shalorus, while Featherweight World Champion Koji Oishi will face Mongolian champ Narantungalag Jadambaa and Welterweight World Champion Nobutatsu Suzuki will meet undefeated wrestling superstar Ben Askren.
Aoki, the 31-year-old Japanese grappler is a former police trainee and he will be competing in One FC’s Featherweight division after successive success as Dream Lightweight Champion and One FC Lightweight Champion.
What gives Aoki a distinct advantage is his versatility in the sport. Aoki holds a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu along with a black belt in judo. And it is this dual qualification that Aoki is banking on for his continued success when he arrives here on Tuesday.
In a career spanning over a decade, after 42 fights, Aoki has 35 wins including two by knock-out and 22 by submission. “Having a vast experience in both judo and jiu-jitsu is really important in MMA and it really gives me an advantage when the fight gets taken down to the ground,” Aoki told Gulf News.
“However, I do also believe that one needs to be equally as good in his striking abilities. I’ve been constantly working on my Muay Thai and boxing skills alongside the many Muay Thai and boxing World Champions at Evolve MMA in Singapore.
“I’m also training with Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu World Champions which allows me to always learn something new every day. The learning curve for martial arts never ends and I’m always looking to improve myself,” he added.
Along with his MMA credentials, Aoki has two All Japan Jiu-Jitsu Championships, a Japan Open Jiu-Jitsu Championship, a Budo Open Championship and an ADCC Japan Championship against his name.
“My long-term goals as a professional fighter would be to compete in as much fights as I can, for as long as I can, with Asia’s number one MMA organisation and keep the title belt around my waist and remain the One FC Lightweight World Champion for the foreseeable future,” Aoki vouched.
And in Dubai it is going to be a true challenge. “From a competitive point of view, I’m looking forward to giving the fans in Dubai a good performance at One FC and at the same time represent the ever-growing Jiu-Jitsu community based in the UAE. And on a more personal level, I want to show the world that I’m the best lightweight fighter in One FC,” he added.
Tickets starting from Dh150 to Dh2,000 have already gone on sale via www.platinumlist.net.