ONE Championship free fight: Shinya Aoki taps out James Nakashima in Singapore

Japanese MMA legend Shinya Aoki may be 55 fights into his MMA career, but the 37-year-old known as “Tobikan Judan” looks as dangerous as ever.

The former ONE lightweight champion proved he’s still very much a title threat on Friday at “ONE Championship 126: Unbreakable,” where he submitted former LFA welterweight champion James Nakashima inside one round at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

In a bout that pitted two seasoned grapplers head to head, it was Aoki who dominated as he forced the action against the cage, moved to his opponent’s back, then leapt onto Nakashima to become a “human backpack.”

From there, it was just a matter of moments before the former DREAM and Shooto champion locked up a rear-naked choke that forced Nakashima to tap out a submission after just two minutes, 42 seconds of their lightweight bout.

It gave Aoki (46-9) his third straight victory since his title loss to Christian Lee in 2019, and took his remarkable tally of submission finishes to 30. It also saw him claim the record for the most submissions in ONE Championship history, with eight.

Relive Aoki’s masterful performance via the video above.