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Legendary ONE veteran lightweight Shinya Aoki has fought the who's who in ONE Championship over the course of his storied career. He has recently been reminiscing about his personal favorite moments throughout his decade-plus tenure in the promotion.
Aoki is celebrating 10 years with ONE Championship this year and recently looked back at some of the most memorable events of his career with the Asian MMA organization. He said:
"The fights that I’m most proud of myself in are the fights I lost against Christian Lee and [Eduard] Folayang. It’s not easy to pick one between these fights. The reason is I believe I made these two champions. I have a strong feeling about this."
Both of his choices are, surprisingly, losses. Eduard Folayang took Aoki's lightweight title in 2016 at ONE: Defending Honor and Christian Lee snatched his belt in 2019 at ONE: Enter the Dragon.
Most recently, Aoki took on Kade Ruotolo in a submission grappling match, which he lost via unanimous decision.
Shinya Aoki vs. Saygid Izagakhmaev at ONE 163
The 39-year-old Aoki is slated to face surging Russian Saygid Izagakhmaev in a pivotal lightweight match at ONE 163. It's a critical bout for Aoki, who is looking to get back on track.
Aoki's last MMA victory came against Folayang, where he successfully avenged his 2016 loss. 'Tobikan Judan' had more to say about his favorite moments:
"These are fights that I chose myself, and I passed the belt to them. I really feel I did a great job. Maybe it’s hard for you guys to understand this mindset because you would say our job is to win the fight. But for me, it is not. Losing a fight is also a part of the job. I believe there are more beautiful things than just winning."
The Japanese veteran possesses a commendable mindset when it comes to competition. Losing is a part of competitive sports, and Aoki seems to be taking it in stride.
Make sure to tune in to ONE 163 on November 19 when Shinya Aoki takes on Saygid Izagakhmaev, live from the Singapore Indoor Stadium.
Check out the full fight between Shinya Aoki and Christian Lee below:
