Shinya Aoki has faced a challenging transition of late. With over 45 victories in his MMA career, 30 of which came via submission, Aoki was once considered the top submission specialist in MMA. However, his supremacy
At One Fight Night 15, he faced BJJ champ Mikey Musumeci.
It took Musumeci less than four minutes to secure victory, submitting Aoki via an Aoki lock. Ironically, Musumeci employed the very submission technique that Aoki had mastered over the years. This marks the second consecutive loss for Aoki in a submission grappling contest; last year, he suffered defeat at the hands of Kade Ruotolo via decision at ONE 157.
It’s worth noting that Musumeci faced adversity leading up to the bout. He revealed that he had endured a challenging training camp due to a bout of food poisoning that led to hospitalization.
Despite medical advice to rest, Musumeci chose to push his limits by competing against a formidable Japanese submission specialist while not in the best health. His determination paid off, and he emerged victorious. Both fighters displayed mutual respect for each other after the contest.
Aoki, on the other hand, recently marked two decades as a professional in MMA, having started his journey in 2003. The passage of time suggests that Aoki’s prime may be behind him, while Musumeci, with his impressive victory, appears to have a promising future ahead.
ONE Fight Night 15: Le vs. Freymanov Results
Thanh Le def. Ilya Freymanov by submission (heel hook), Round 1, 1:02 — for the vacant ONE interim featherweight championship
Jonathan Di Bella (c) def. Danial Williams by unanimous decision — for the ONE strawweight kickboxing championship
Tawanchai PK Saenchai def. Jo Nattawut by unanimous decision — kickboxing
Mikey Musumeci def. Shinya Aoki by submission (heel hook), 3:05 — submission grappling
Joshua Pacio def. Mansur Malachiev by unanimous decision
Zhang Lipeng def. Timofey Nastyukhin by TKO, Round 1, 3:18
Hu Yong def. Eko Roni Saputra by TKO, Round 1, 1:03
Phetjeeja def. Celest Hansen by TKO (doctor’s stoppage), Round 3, 1:01 — Muay Thai
Hiroyuki Tetsuka def. Jin Tae Ho by submission (arm-bar), Round 1, 4:45
Shakir Al-Tekreeti def. Bampara Kouyate by unanimous decision — Muay Thai
