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#2. ONE Championship lightweight bout against Saygid Izagakhmaev
After his impactful ONE Championship debut at ONE: Heavy Hitters, Saygid Izagakhmaev called out the entire lightweight division. The highly touted protege of the great Khabib Nurmagomedov then mentioned two fighters he'd like to fight – Eddie Alvarez and Shinya Aoki.
With his dominance of James Nakashima, added to the fandom he's already garnering due to his association with Khabib, Izagakhmaev might get what he wants. Just imagine the grappling exchanges that will happen in this one.
It would be a clash of two warriors from different backgrounds but cut from the same cloth. Izagakhmaev is a grappler of the wrestling variety, while Aoki is a grappler best known for his slick jiu-jitsu submissions.
It would be interesting to see the veteran Aoki deal with the steamrolling kind of wrestling Izagakhmaev utilizes like his mentor Khabib. The Japanese MMA icon has always had problems with strikers who refuse to tangle with him on the ground. This time, he'll face a fighter who will deliberately bring him to the ground to fight him there.
Beating a young phenom like Izagakhmaev will further cement Aoki's legacy as one of the all-time greats. It will not be an easy fight, but the rewards greatly outweigh the risks on this one.
#1. ONE Championship lightweight rematch against Christian Lee
There's nothing like a good old redemption story. Back in 2019, Aoki lost his lightweight belt in the most devastating fashion against Christian 'The Warrior' Lee. The then 20-year-old Lee was seen as a sacrificial lamb to the dominant champion Aoki.
Pundits were predicting an early sub for the Japanese. They opined that if Aoki got the fight to the ground, a submission was not just a possibility but an eventuality.
For the most part, Aoki was doing good on what everyone predicted. The Japanese submission master put his challenger on his back and almost submitted him with an armbar. Somehow, the determined Lee survived to win the fight via a second-round knockout.
It was one of the most memorable underdog wins in ONE Championship history. Having the two run it back weaves a narrative of redemption for both fighters. Aoki needs to redeem himself from the embarrassing 2019 loss, while Lee needs to find a way to get back on the road to championship gold.
As far as matchups go, this one has the most compelling story and that's why it tops our list.
