Shinya Aoki And Saygid Izagakhmaev To Meet At ONE 163

At ONE 163: Akimoto vs. Petchtanong, two ONE World Titles will be on the line in the event’s headliners. However, many eyes will be on the main card clash between two of the lightweight division’s most dangerous men.

Japanese grappling legend and #5-ranked contender Shinya Aoki steps back into the Circle against #4-ranked Russian powerhouse Saygid Izagakhmaev in mixed martial arts action.

Aoki has competed in both MMA and submission grappling rules in ONE this year. This past March, the martial arts icon faced the infamous Yoshihiro Akiyama in MMA as well as Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu prodigy and newly crowned ONE Lightweight Submission Grappling World Champion Kade Ruotolo in submission grappling.

A statement victory against the 28-year-old Russian would make Aoki much more of a threat in the lightweight division than he already is. As it is, at 39-years-old his position among the promotion’s elite fighters is a very impressive stance to uphold. 

Despite his mixed bag of results as of late, Aoki will see another fierce fighter standing in front of him in Izagakhmaev. The Russian is currently one place atop of Aoki in the lightweight rankings at #4, and a win will see him cement his status in the loaded division. If he beats Aoki, he would also improve his ONE record to three straight respectable victories inside the Circle. 

Izagakhmaev has looked very impressive in his tenure with ONE. In his debut this past January, he submitted promotional mainstay James Nakashima in the second stanza. The 21-2 battler then saw off China’s Zhang Lipeng by unanimous decision this past September at ONE 161. 

Claiming the scalp of a legend like Aoki could be the perfect way to round off the Russian’s year and see him move closer to the lightweight title come 2023, as his ranking in the division would remain the same or see a slight nudge up. 

ONE 163: Akimoto vs. Petchtanong goes down live on Saturday, 19 November, at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. Tickets can be purchased at https://ticketmaster.sg/activity/detail/22_onenovsg.

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