“They Assume I Am the Underdog” – Shinya Aoki Is Prepared To Prove the Critics Wrong in His Bout Against Khabib Nurmagomedov’s Stablemate Saygid Izagakhmaev

Shinya Aoki disagrees with those who say he will be the underdog in his lightweight tie with Saygid Izagakhmaev at ONE 163: Akimoto vs. Petchtanong on November 19.

The former divisional king has been bestowed with the tag by a portion of the martial arts community due to his recent run of back-to-back losses inside the ONE Championship Circle and his upcoming rival’s undefeated run in the Circle.

Aoki started the year with a defeat to Yoshihiro “Sexyama” Akiyama in a “legend versus legend” clash at ONE X in March.

Shinya Aoki eyes a new beginning, forgetting past disappointments

A couple of months later, the veteran fighter fell to a unanimous decision loss against recently crowned ONE Lightweight Submission Grappling World Champion Kade Ruotolo in their 10-minute submission grappling tie.However, “Tobikan Judan” wants to remind the naysayers that there’s a bigger picture to focus on – and that’s his storied career of two decades and nearly 60 professional fights.

“[Izagakhmaev] wants to enhance the value of his name, right? I have value [in the division] because I have competed for over 20 years. I have a lot of experience in major MMA events around the world. They are eager to fight against me. They may see me as a legendary fighter. I can understand their minds,” the 39-year-old said.

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“Everyone said, ‘Why did you accept this fight?’ I thought everyone was underestimating me. They assume I am the underdog. I could see that many people are foolish enough to enjoy martial arts only in terms of winning and losing.”

Shinya Aoki would not back down to challenges

Aoki isn’t interested in responding to the negative words being said about him. Instead, he is focused on doing what he does best next Saturday – perform against an upcoming talent and continue to excel in victory or defeat.

“This match is very important for me. It’s challenging. To be honest, I had two options. One was a kind of veterans match. The other was this opponent. I chose him. I feel the greatest pleasure in fighting against the strongest fighters at the moment,” he said.

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“I’ve never said no to a fight. I just ask, “When is my next fight?” I fought Ben Askren, Christian Lee, Garry Tonon, and Kade Ruotolo. I fought against all of the strongest fighters at that moment.”