Shinya Aoki
Shinya "Tobikan Judan" Aoki (Japanese: 青木真也) (born May 9, 1983) is a Japanese mixed martial artist, grappler, and former police officer. Aoki is the current Shooto middleweight (167 lb) champion after defeating Akira Kikuchi in February of 2006. Aoki holds a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Yuki Nakai, as well as a black belt in Judo. He works as an instructor at Paraestra Kasai, but represents the Paraestra Tokyo head-school when competing. He is best known for his excellent flexibility,[1][2] often taking opponents by surprise and earning him the nickname "Tobikan Judan," meaning "master of flying submissions."
MMA career
In August 2006, Aoki made his PRIDE Fighting Championships debut at PRIDE Bushido 12, submitting American Jason Black in under two minutes with a triangle choke. Following that win, Aoki was booked to face rising lightweight star Gilbert Melendez at the following Bushido card, Bushido 13. However, prior to the fight Melendez received an elbow injury (a burst bursa sac) in training and was forced to pull out of the fight. Aoki's opponent was changed to Clay French. Aoki submitted French in just under four minutes with a triangle choke. Afterwards, Melendez was shown in the crowd with a sling, and announced he would like to face Aoki at PRIDE Shockwave 2006 on New Year's Eve. Aoki agreed.
For unknown reasons, the proposed fight with Melendez did not take place. Instead, Aoki faced highly ranked lightweight fighter Joachim Hansen. Aoki submitted Hansen with a gogoplata — considered the first successful gogoplata in MMA competition.[3]
After his win over Hansen, Aoki was set to rematch Kikuchi in Shooto, with Aoki's Shooto middleweight title (previously won from Kikuchi) on the line. Aoki successfully defended his title against Kikuchi, winning via split decision.
Following his victory, Aoki announced that he was to be the Shooto representative in the forthcoming PRIDE Lightweight Grand Prix tournament. Aoki's next fight was at PRIDE 34, where he faced little known Dutch fighter Brian Lo-A-Njoe. At the event Aoki submitted Lo-A-Njoe in the first round with an armbar. Following the fight, Aoki once again confirmed his participation in the Lightweight Grand Prix. With the purchase of PRIDE by the majority owners of Zuffa LLC, the PRIDE Lightweight Grand Prix was cancelled.[4]
On November 21, 2007, Aoki's participation on the New Year's Eve MMA card Yarennoka! was announced. Originally, his opponent was to be two-time K-1 Hero's Middleweight Grand Prix champion Gesias "JZ Calvan" Calvancante. Rumors that Calvancante was injured surfaced only two weeks before the bout, though Calvancante denied them before eventually admitted the injury and withdrawing from the fight. Aoki defeated Korean Olympic Judo silver medalist Jung Bu-Kyung, Calvancante's replacement, via unanimous decision in what was Jung Bu-Kyung's mixed martial arts debut. Aoki had promised to use a never before seen submission in the match but was unable to finish the debut fighter. [5] [6]
Aoki finally faced Calvancante on March 15, 2008 at the opening round of the DREAM Lightweight Grand Prix tournament. Early in the first round, the referee stopped the action when Calvancante apparently landed illegal elbow strikes to the back of Aoki's neck. The ringside doctor announced that Aoki was unable to continue due to the injury and Calvancante apologized for the incident. [7] The fight resulted in a no contest. Elbow strikes to the neck and spine area are illegal under DREAM rules. Aoki was later found to have sustained concussion of the cervical vertebra.[8]
They had their rematch on at DREAM.2 on April 29, 2008. In that match, Aoki defeated Calvancante via unanimous decision, and shocked the Mixed Martial Arts and Jiu-Jitsu world with his use of the De La Riva guard to deliver multiple heel kicks to Calvancate's Head.[9] However, he sustained a severely bruised rib and tore cartilage in his costal area during the match. At DREAM.4, Aoki defeated Katsuhiko Nagata via a mounted gogoplata (possibly the first ever in professional competition) submission to advance to the semi-finals of the Dream Lightweight Grand Prix.[10]At DREAM 5 Eddie Alvarez was set to fight Aoki, but had to bow out due to injury from his previous match that evening. Joachim Hansen took his place and defeated Aoki by TKO (punches) at 4:19 round 1 to become the first DREAM Lightweight Champion.
MMA record
| 21 matches | 18 wins | 3 losses |
| By knockout | 1 | 2 |
| By submission | 10 | 0 |
| By decision | 5 | 1 |
See also
List of male mixed martial artists
Footnotes
- ^ Gesias “JZ” Calvancante-Shinya Aoki: A Must Watch For MMA Fans Derek Bolender, Bleacher Report, 22 April 2008
- ^ Aoki bests Calvancante; middleweights advance Jason Nowe, Sherdog/ESPN. April 29, 2008
- ^ Liddell Highlights Sherdog.com 2006 Awards
- ^ PRIDE GP Opener in Nagoya Now Officially Nixed
- ^ ""Yarennoka!" Official web site". December 27, 2007. Retrieved 2007-12-27.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ ""Aoki to Fight Olympic Silver Medalist Judoka"". December 27, 2007. Retrieved 2007-12-27.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ DREAM.1 REVIEW: JZ VS. AOKI A NO CONTEST by Monty DiPietro (March 15, 2008)
- ^ Aoki's Grand Prix Bout Postponed by Tim Leidecker, Sherdog News. May 5, 2008
- ^ "DREAM.2 Results". Retrieved 2008-03-20.
- ^ Aoki’s Grand Prix Bout Postponed
Sources
- Yu, Al (2006-08-25). "Miletich's Jason Black to Face Shooto Champion". MMAWeekly.com. Retrieved 2007-06-29.
- Yu, Al (2006-12-29). "A Word from the Asian Sensation..." MMAWeekly.com. Retrieved 2007-06-29.
External links
- PRIDE profile
- Sherdog profile
- Shinya Aoki VS Keith Wisniewski Shooto - Youtube