Shinya Aoki and the UFC?

XiaolinSoldier · 02-20-2006, 01:45 AM

Aoki mentioned before his fight with Akira Kikuchi that he wanted to fight in the UFC WW division. I personally didint think he was gonna take that fight but apparently he dominated Kikuchi, and IMO that automatically puts him in the top 15 at WW. He said that he didnt want to fight for K-1 or PRIDE, but he did want a chance in the UFC. He mentioned Karo, GSP and BJ Penn as possilbe opponents.
What do you guys think? Should UFC pick him up? How do you think he can hang in the division?

T. Hope · 02-20-2006, 01:54 AM

I was at his last fight and in his post fight interview he said that he would only fight in Shooto and that he would be 100% dedicated to them.

hamoom · 02-20-2006, 01:59 AM

i dont think he would fare well against ufc WW anyway. he's too small.

T. Hope · 02-20-2006, 02:01 AM

If he DID go to the UFC, which I doubt, I actually think he could possibly make a dent. I was really impressed with his recent win, and I only see him getting better.

**Shooto Panama** · 02-20-2006, 02:03 AM

Place him with a grappler like Karo or Diaz for an automatically entertainment fight.

Green Whale · 02-20-2006, 02:04 AM

Awesome additon, but I don't see it happening yet. He is damn good!

www.greenwhaleproductions.com

XiaolinSoldier · 02-20-2006, 02:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by T. Hope

I was at his last fight and in his post fight interview he said that he would only fight in Shooto and that he would be 100% dedicated to them.

Okay well in an interview right before the fight he said he did in fact want to fight in the UFC. He said he would only fight for Shooto in Japan, but he expressed interest in fighting for the UFC, and actually dropped names of people he wanted to fight.
Anway, I agree about putting him in with a grappler. I think Aoki vs Parisyan would be one of the most exciting fights in the division. Not saying he would be upper tier, but there are a lot of fighters in the UFC WW division, he would definately be able to hang with/beat a lot of them.

mysexisartsy · 02-20-2006, 02:26 AM

Against non-powerhouse grapplers, Aoki can clean house. His fundamentals and ability are off the chain. But once you throw him in with a guy like GSP, Penn or Hughes, he is going to get squashed, only because he is so tiny.

T. Hope · 02-20-2006, 02:31 AM

Interesting about the prefight interview. I think he should stick to Shooto for awhile though. Get some more experience. He will only improve.

WhiteCrow · 02-20-2006, 02:43 AM

I thought Kikuchi was the best japanese welterweight, but Aoki surprised me with the win. He would do more than just put a dent on the ufc ww division.