Shinya Aoki, a Japanese mixed martial arts (MMA) icon, was handed a curveball when ‘Super’ withdrew from the fight in the eleventh hour. Shinya Aoki was supposed to battle Sage Northcutt at ONE 165 on Sunday. An openweight mixed martial arts match was saved by John Lineker, a former ONE bantamweight MMA world champion who decided to step in on extremely short notice to compete in the fight.
During the first round of the fight, Lineker was immediately put in a precarious position since Aoki was able to get a swift takedown and move into mount. Lineker was successful in bringing Aoki back into half guard, but ‘Tobikan Judan’ unleashed a number of ground and pound strikes, which allowed him to regain mount.
Although Lineker made an effort to defend himself by giving up his back, Shinya Aoki was able to successfully cinch in a neck crank as a result of this. Due to the fact that he was unable to break the grip, “Hands of Stone” was forced to submit in the first round of the fight.
Officially, Shinya Aoki prevailed over John Lineker by way of submission (rear-naked choke) at three minutes and ten seconds into the first round.
At the conclusion of the competition, Aoki disclosed that he had fought Lineker on short notice in order to express his gratitude to Chatri Sityodtong, the CEO of ONE Championship Entertainment. After having a conversation with Mitch Chilson inside the ring, ‘Tobikan Judan’ found out that he would be eligible for a bonus of fifty thousand dollars for his speedy finish of John Lineker.
When Aoki entered the fight, he had been defeated in his previous four bouts, therefore this was a momentous occasion for him. With 31 submissions over the course of his career, he won for the 48th time.
