Boku-Aoki: An All-Japanese super fight with a dose of revenge

One FC Lightweight World Champion Kotetsu “No Face” Boku makes his first ever title defense against current number one contender and one of the greatest submission grapplers the sport of MMA has ever seen, Shinya “Tobikan Judan” Aoki, when One Fighting Championship returns to the Singapore Indoor Stadium on April 5 in the appropriately titled, One FC: Kings & Champions.

Boku, a Japanese-born Korean MMA fighter, defeated Brazilian contender Zorobabel “Zoro” Moreira at One FC: Rise of Kings last October 2012 to earn the inaugural One FC Lightweight World Championship title belt while Aoki earned his shot at the title following a devastating submission victory over Frenchman Arnaud Lepont.

During the fight with Moreira, the kickboxing specialist Boku (20-7-2) ignited the crowd at the sold-out Singapore Indoor Stadium last October 6 with a massive come-from-behind victory at 0:31 seconds of the third round, earning him the first ever One FC Lightweight World Championship title. The Brazilian hurt Boku with numerous leg kicks and was second away from the title when the Korean nailed him with a lucky punch that dropped him.

With six wins in his last seven fights, Boku is enjoying the most successful spell of his career. There is no doubt that the fight on 5 April will be his toughest test to date when he squares off against Aoki who is a Dream Lightweight Champion who has beaten MMA legends like Tatsuya Kawajiri, Marcus Aurelio and Rich Clementi.

Aoki (32-6-1) holds a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and judo, which has earned him a reputation as one of the most dangerous submission artists the sport of MMA has ever seen. His last outing with One FC saw him send Lepont to dreamland with triangle choke 85 seconds into the fight to earn a shot at the One FC Lightweight Title.

He followed up that win over Lepont with his 32nd career victory over American Antonio McKee via second round submission in Dream 18 last December 31 in Tokyo, Japan.

The famed “Grandmaster of Flying Submissions” is looking forward to avenge Moreira, his close friend from Evolve MMA out of Singapore.

"It was a great fight. Zoro was dominating the fight and was very close to finishing Boku a few times. I want to fight. I will fight anyone, but I want to avenge my teammate’s loss. On the Evolve Fight Team, Zoro is my closest friend. I want a title shot against Boku," said Aoki.

Aoki will get that chance to showcase his skills against Boku who has been idle since his win over Moreira, when both men enter the cage at One FC: Kings & Champions.