Shinya Aoki has been the most dominant lightweights in Asia for the better part of a decade, but the reigning ONE FC lightweight champion and former Dream, Shooto and WAMMA champion is set for a new challenge: campaigning at 145 pounds. Talk of a possible drop down in weight for Aoki has been intensifying ever since his title victory over Kotetsu Boku . He made the 155-pound limit so easily for that fight that both him and his team stated that he would be likely to compete at featherweight in the future. The final stage in the preparatory process took place last weekend with Aoki completing a successful test cut. He posted a photo of himself on Facebook stepping on the scales at 65.6 kg along with a message saying that it had been “no problem.” The most obvious fight for the Japanese legend would be against reigning ONE FC featherweight champion Koji Oishi , who won the belt by beating Honorio Banario in Manila last month. Aoki, however, also holds the lightweight strap, which could complicate any prospective featherweight match-up, as ONE FC matchmaker Matt Hume might be reluctant to allow one fighter to hold two belts concurrently. If he remains at 155 pounds, there are a number of potential contenders coming through the ONE FC ranks including Kamal Shalorus , Caros Fodor and Lowen Tynanes, while the top-ranked fighters in the featherweight division at present are Oishi, Banario, Eric Kelly, and Bae Young Kwon. The decision to move down in weight was made by Aoki and the training team at Evolve MMA in Singapore, which has a proven track record of helping its fighters make weight drops
BAD MMA Trending Cloud
UFC • Bellator • Conor Mcgregor • PFL • Jon Jones • Daniel Cormier • Dustin Poirier • Khabib Nurmagomedov • Dana White • Francis Ngannou • Jorge Masvidal • Nate Diaz • WSOF • Anderson Silva • Max Holloway • Ronda Rousey • Amanda Nunes • Michael Bisping • Donald Cerrone • Michael Chandler • Tony Ferguson • Kamaru Usman • Alex Pereira • islam makhachev • Alexander Volkanovski • Jake Paul • Henry Cejudo • Demetrious Johnson • Charles Oliveira • Jose Aldo • One Championship • Aljamain Sterling • sean o'malley • Derrick Lewis • Stipe Miocic • sean strickland • Tyron Woodley • Georges St Pierre • Robert Whittaker • Holly Holm
- MMA News (113281)
- Alonzo Menifield vs. Julius Walker prediction, pick, start time for UFC Fight Night 252
- BetMGM Bonus Code WIREBG150 – Score $150 in Bonus Bets for UFC Fight Night, NBA & NCAAB
- Rob Font vs. Jean Matsumoto prediction, pick, start time for UFC Fight Night 252
- Jean Silva vs. Melsik Baghdasaryan prediction, pick, start time for UFC Fight Night 252
- Brendan Allen vs. Anthony Hernandez prediction, pick, start time for UFC Fight Night 252
- Video: Ranking the UFC’s most valuable fighters
- UFC Fight Night 252 predictions: Is Cejudo or Song the better man in Seattle?
- UFC Fight Night 252 live updates: Results, round-by-round coverage of every fight
- UFC Seattle: Cejudo vs. Song Face-Offs
- Jason Jackson details the PFL/Bellator ‘worst circumstance I’ve ever been under’ that led to title loss