Aoki Ready for SHOOTO Middleweight Title Shot
Days before he hopes to add his name to the impressive list of
SHOOTO 167-pound titleholders, Japan’s Shinya Aoki (Pictures) spoke with Sherdog.com about
Friday’s challenge against middleweight champion Akira Kikuchi (Pictures).
The jiu-jitsu ace comments on his controversial decision loss to Hayato Sakurai (Pictures), his thoughts on PRIDE and K-1, and his plans for the future.
Sherdog.com: What’s your background? How did you start
training?
Shinya Aoki (Pictures): I’m originally from Shizuoka prefecture, and I came here to attend university. I used to do judo before, and when I shifted from judo to MMA I met Nakai-sensei, so I joined this gym (Paraestra Tokyo) and that’s why I’m here.
Aoki: Because I have more fighting opportunities with MMA.
Sherdog.com: Which do you like more, judo or jiu-jitsu?
Aoki: I like techniques, so I like jiu-jitsu better.
Sherdog.com: If you had to pick between concentrating on jiu-jitsu or being a fighter in SHOOTO, what would you pick and why?
Aoki: I’d like to mainly concentrate on jiu-jitsu in the future. With jiu-jitsu I can fight for a longer time, and also I love technique.
Sherdog.com: You’re fighting at 167 pounds (76 kgs). That’s middleweight for SHOOTO. Fans outside Japan who follow your career think that you’re too small for that weight and it would be advantageous for you to go down to 154 lbs (70kgs). Have you considered going down in weight or are you comfortable where you are now?
Aoki: I don’t think that I’m small for 76 kilograms. I feel comfortable at this weight.
Sherdog.com: When you went to the Abu-Dhabi grappling championships last year, you face two of the biggest stars in that event: Marcelo Garcia and Royler Gracie (Pictures). What was it like being there and competing with the best grapplers in the world?
Aoki: Well, the results say that I lost, but for me the answer is simple — I just have to keep going and going and I will win eventually.
Sherdog.com: How were Garcia and Gracie technique-wise?
Aoki: Their basic techniques are down-pat, very good.
Sherdog.com: In your pro-fighter record you fought Keith Wisniewski (Pictures) last year and you won by standing armlock, actually breaking Wisniewski’s elbow. In a jiu-jitsu tournament here in Japan, you fought Kuniyoshi Hironaka (Pictures) and you broke Hironaka’s arm by armbar. Many MMA fighters follow the “train to break” mentality when it comes to submissions. Do you follow this philosophy?
Aoki: I’m not out to break anyone’s arm, but the thing is that the guys didn’t tap, so their arms broke.
Sherdog.com: Your ring entrance music is “Baka Survivor” (“Baka” means stupid or “simple minded” in Japanese). Why did you choose this song? Is there any significance behind it?
Aoki: Daisuke “Amazon” Sugie is a friend of mine, so we decided to use the same ring entrance music.
Sherdog.com: So that’s the only reason why you picked it? Is there any meaning to it?
Aoki: (laughs) No meaning.
Sherdog.com: When you walk to the ring, you do a dance with the “Baka Survivor” song. Do you feel that you can dance better than Genki Sudo (Pictures)?
Aoki: (laughs) I don’t think so, no way.
Sherdog.com: OK, back in SHOOTO of August last year, you were fighting Hayato Sakurai (Pictures), in the first round. You caught Sakurai with a front choke, so basically under SHOOTO rules that’s a catch. So for that round on the judges’ cards you should have gotten 10-8 in points, but you didn’t. How do you feel about that?
Aoki: I don’t want to complain about it, but the only thing that I thought more about after that was: What more do I need to do in a fight? What’s kind of techniques do I need to use to get the outcome that I want? That’s more important to me. I feel that there is no need to complain about the decision.
Sherdog.com: Did you feel at the moment that the choke you caught Sakurai with was tight?
Aoki: Yes, it was tight.
Sherdog.com: You fought very good in that fight and it was very close. Many fans think that you should have won by decision. How do you feel about your performance in that fight?
Aoki: At the time I did my best.
Sherdog.com: Is that everything?
Aoki: That’s everything.
Sherdog.com: Your second pro fight was in DEEP against Jutaro Nakao (Pictures), where you lost by knockout. Would you like to avenge that loss?
Aoki: The promotions are different, so perhaps I will not have a chance to fight him again.
Sherdog.com: So you want to stay strictly with SHOOTO?
Aoki: I’d like to fight in the UFC as well.
Sherdog.com: What do you feel about fighting in a cage rather than a ring?
Aoki: No difference.
Sherdog.com: For the upcoming SHOOTO show you will be fighting the SHOOTO middleweight champion, Akira Kikuchi (Pictures). How do you feel about this fight?
Aoki: It’s going to be a grappling war. The person with the best technique is going to win.
Sherdog.com: Are you worried about Kikuchi’s stand-up game?
Aoki: No. (laughs) Both of us are not that good in stand-up, so it will be alright.
Sherdog.com: Kikuchi has a very strong judo background and his ground game is good. Are you looking forward to fighting on the ground with him?
Aoki: I’m really looking forward to grappling with him.
Sherdog.com: Are you more interested in winning the belt or beating Kikuchi?
Aoki: I’m not fighting for the belt, nor am I fighting for Kikuchi. I’m fighting for myself. That’s what’s important.
Sherdog.com: Good answer. If you get the win against Kikuchi, you will become the SHOOTO middleweight champion, would you like to follow other SHOOTO champions and go to bigger promotions such as PRIDE or K-1 HERO’s?
Aoki: I’m not interested in PRIDE or K-1 HERO’s.
Sherdog.com: Any particular reason?
Aoki: Because it’s not martial arts, it’s just an event. PRIDE and K-1 are just entertainment. That’s not martial arts for me.
Sherdog.com: That’s a very strong opinion. I understand that you recently became a cop, why did you choose that profession?
Aoki: I know that I could fight in PRIDE or K-1 and make money, but that would go against my principals, so I figured that I would take on a normal job, and as a cop I can protect Japan.
Sherdog.com: Are you a cop now?
Aoki: The results will come out in April.
Sherdog.com: If you become a cop and you see someone doing something wrong on the street, are you going to tell that person to stop or are you going to choke him out, or apply an armbar or something?
Aoki: (laughs) Actually, I’m a weakling and I’m really scared of fighting. (laughs) I’m just going to run away.
Sherdog.com: But you’re suppose to protect Japan, so how are you going to run away?
Aoki: (laughs) OK, I’ll arrest him then, but no choke-out.
Sherdog.com: That’s good. What’s your schedule like? What’s a normal day for you?
Aoki: I’m a sports science student at Waseda University now. After school, practice, then free time.
Sherdog.com: How many times a week do you train and for how long? What do you focus on, gi, no gi, striking?
Aoki: For striking I do the mitts, bag, shadow [boxing], sparring and stretching for about an hour and a half. And then at night for one and a half hours I do ground work, with and without the gi. When it’s near a fight, I train at least twice a day, afternoon and night, six days a week.
Sherdog.com: You only have six fights as a pro-fighter so far, is there anyone in particular who you would like to face?
Aoki: Diego Sanchez (Pictures).
Sherdog.com: Why?
Aoki: Because I want the viewer to have a good time and have an exciting match.
Sherdog.com. Sanchez is a big star in the UFC now. Besides Sanchez is there anyone else?
Aoki: Karo Parisyan (Pictures), Georges St. Pierre (Pictures). But the one that I would really like to face is Nick Diaz (Pictures).
Sherdog.com: He fought Joe Riggs (Pictures) in the UFC and Riggs won. They went to the Las Vegas hospital after the fight. At the hospital they started to talk smack to each other and Diaz punched him.
Aoki: Really? (laughs)
Sherdog.com: The police asked Riggs if he wanted to press charges, but he declined.
Aoki: (laughs)
Sherdog.com: With the UFC, would you like to fight either Matt Hughes (Pictures) or B.J. Penn (Pictures)?
Aoki: I’d like to do it but right now I think that Matt Hughes (Pictures) would be a bit too strong.
Sherdog.com: What about Penn?
Aoki: Penn is very strong as well; for 70 kilos they’re the top.
Sherdog.com: I read before that you were planning on retiring from pro-fighting and just concentrate on jiu-jitsu and grappling tournaments, are you still with that idea?
Aoki: In the future, yes.
Sherdog.com: What are your plans for the future? Do you want to keep going with sports science, or be a cop, or open your own school and teach?
Aoki: Basically I’ll be a cop, but as a hobby I’d like to have my own dojo.
Sherdog.com: Thanks for your time and good luck on Friday.
Aoki: Thank you.
The jiu-jitsu ace comments on his controversial decision loss to Hayato Sakurai (Pictures), his thoughts on PRIDE and K-1, and his plans for the future.
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Shinya Aoki (Pictures): I’m originally from Shizuoka prefecture, and I came here to attend university. I used to do judo before, and when I shifted from judo to MMA I met Nakai-sensei, so I joined this gym (Paraestra Tokyo) and that’s why I’m here.
Sherdog.com: Why did you make the shift from judo to MMA?
Aoki: Because I have more fighting opportunities with MMA.
Sherdog.com: Which do you like more, judo or jiu-jitsu?
Aoki: I like techniques, so I like jiu-jitsu better.
Sherdog.com: If you had to pick between concentrating on jiu-jitsu or being a fighter in SHOOTO, what would you pick and why?
Aoki: I’d like to mainly concentrate on jiu-jitsu in the future. With jiu-jitsu I can fight for a longer time, and also I love technique.
Sherdog.com: You’re fighting at 167 pounds (76 kgs). That’s middleweight for SHOOTO. Fans outside Japan who follow your career think that you’re too small for that weight and it would be advantageous for you to go down to 154 lbs (70kgs). Have you considered going down in weight or are you comfortable where you are now?
Aoki: I don’t think that I’m small for 76 kilograms. I feel comfortable at this weight.
Sherdog.com: When you went to the Abu-Dhabi grappling championships last year, you face two of the biggest stars in that event: Marcelo Garcia and Royler Gracie (Pictures). What was it like being there and competing with the best grapplers in the world?
Aoki: Well, the results say that I lost, but for me the answer is simple — I just have to keep going and going and I will win eventually.
Sherdog.com: How were Garcia and Gracie technique-wise?
Aoki: Their basic techniques are down-pat, very good.
Sherdog.com: In your pro-fighter record you fought Keith Wisniewski (Pictures) last year and you won by standing armlock, actually breaking Wisniewski’s elbow. In a jiu-jitsu tournament here in Japan, you fought Kuniyoshi Hironaka (Pictures) and you broke Hironaka’s arm by armbar. Many MMA fighters follow the “train to break” mentality when it comes to submissions. Do you follow this philosophy?
Aoki: I’m not out to break anyone’s arm, but the thing is that the guys didn’t tap, so their arms broke.
Sherdog.com: Your ring entrance music is “Baka Survivor” (“Baka” means stupid or “simple minded” in Japanese). Why did you choose this song? Is there any significance behind it?
Aoki: Daisuke “Amazon” Sugie is a friend of mine, so we decided to use the same ring entrance music.
Sherdog.com: So that’s the only reason why you picked it? Is there any meaning to it?
Aoki: (laughs) No meaning.
Sherdog.com: When you walk to the ring, you do a dance with the “Baka Survivor” song. Do you feel that you can dance better than Genki Sudo (Pictures)?
Aoki: (laughs) I don’t think so, no way.
Sherdog.com: OK, back in SHOOTO of August last year, you were fighting Hayato Sakurai (Pictures), in the first round. You caught Sakurai with a front choke, so basically under SHOOTO rules that’s a catch. So for that round on the judges’ cards you should have gotten 10-8 in points, but you didn’t. How do you feel about that?
Aoki: I don’t want to complain about it, but the only thing that I thought more about after that was: What more do I need to do in a fight? What’s kind of techniques do I need to use to get the outcome that I want? That’s more important to me. I feel that there is no need to complain about the decision.
Sherdog.com: Did you feel at the moment that the choke you caught Sakurai with was tight?
Aoki: Yes, it was tight.
Sherdog.com: You fought very good in that fight and it was very close. Many fans think that you should have won by decision. How do you feel about your performance in that fight?
Aoki: At the time I did my best.
Sherdog.com: Is that everything?
Aoki: That’s everything.
Sherdog.com: Your second pro fight was in DEEP against Jutaro Nakao (Pictures), where you lost by knockout. Would you like to avenge that loss?
Aoki: The promotions are different, so perhaps I will not have a chance to fight him again.
Sherdog.com: So you want to stay strictly with SHOOTO?
Aoki: I’d like to fight in the UFC as well.
Sherdog.com: What do you feel about fighting in a cage rather than a ring?
Aoki: No difference.
Sherdog.com: For the upcoming SHOOTO show you will be fighting the SHOOTO middleweight champion, Akira Kikuchi (Pictures). How do you feel about this fight?
Aoki: It’s going to be a grappling war. The person with the best technique is going to win.
Sherdog.com: Are you worried about Kikuchi’s stand-up game?
Aoki: No. (laughs) Both of us are not that good in stand-up, so it will be alright.
Sherdog.com: Kikuchi has a very strong judo background and his ground game is good. Are you looking forward to fighting on the ground with him?
Aoki: I’m really looking forward to grappling with him.
Sherdog.com: Are you more interested in winning the belt or beating Kikuchi?
Aoki: I’m not fighting for the belt, nor am I fighting for Kikuchi. I’m fighting for myself. That’s what’s important.
Sherdog.com: Good answer. If you get the win against Kikuchi, you will become the SHOOTO middleweight champion, would you like to follow other SHOOTO champions and go to bigger promotions such as PRIDE or K-1 HERO’s?
Aoki: I’m not interested in PRIDE or K-1 HERO’s.
Sherdog.com: Any particular reason?
Aoki: Because it’s not martial arts, it’s just an event. PRIDE and K-1 are just entertainment. That’s not martial arts for me.
Sherdog.com: That’s a very strong opinion. I understand that you recently became a cop, why did you choose that profession?
Aoki: I know that I could fight in PRIDE or K-1 and make money, but that would go against my principals, so I figured that I would take on a normal job, and as a cop I can protect Japan.
Sherdog.com: Are you a cop now?
Aoki: The results will come out in April.
Sherdog.com: If you become a cop and you see someone doing something wrong on the street, are you going to tell that person to stop or are you going to choke him out, or apply an armbar or something?
Aoki: (laughs) Actually, I’m a weakling and I’m really scared of fighting. (laughs) I’m just going to run away.
Sherdog.com: But you’re suppose to protect Japan, so how are you going to run away?
Aoki: (laughs) OK, I’ll arrest him then, but no choke-out.
Sherdog.com: That’s good. What’s your schedule like? What’s a normal day for you?
Aoki: I’m a sports science student at Waseda University now. After school, practice, then free time.
Sherdog.com: How many times a week do you train and for how long? What do you focus on, gi, no gi, striking?
Aoki: For striking I do the mitts, bag, shadow [boxing], sparring and stretching for about an hour and a half. And then at night for one and a half hours I do ground work, with and without the gi. When it’s near a fight, I train at least twice a day, afternoon and night, six days a week.
Sherdog.com: You only have six fights as a pro-fighter so far, is there anyone in particular who you would like to face?
Aoki: Diego Sanchez (Pictures).
Sherdog.com: Why?
Aoki: Because I want the viewer to have a good time and have an exciting match.
Sherdog.com. Sanchez is a big star in the UFC now. Besides Sanchez is there anyone else?
Aoki: Karo Parisyan (Pictures), Georges St. Pierre (Pictures). But the one that I would really like to face is Nick Diaz (Pictures).
Sherdog.com: He fought Joe Riggs (Pictures) in the UFC and Riggs won. They went to the Las Vegas hospital after the fight. At the hospital they started to talk smack to each other and Diaz punched him.
Aoki: Really? (laughs)
Sherdog.com: The police asked Riggs if he wanted to press charges, but he declined.
Aoki: (laughs)
Sherdog.com: With the UFC, would you like to fight either Matt Hughes (Pictures) or B.J. Penn (Pictures)?
Aoki: I’d like to do it but right now I think that Matt Hughes (Pictures) would be a bit too strong.
Sherdog.com: What about Penn?
Aoki: Penn is very strong as well; for 70 kilos they’re the top.
Sherdog.com: I read before that you were planning on retiring from pro-fighting and just concentrate on jiu-jitsu and grappling tournaments, are you still with that idea?
Aoki: In the future, yes.
Sherdog.com: What are your plans for the future? Do you want to keep going with sports science, or be a cop, or open your own school and teach?
Aoki: Basically I’ll be a cop, but as a hobby I’d like to have my own dojo.
Sherdog.com: Thanks for your time and good luck on Friday.
Aoki: Thank you.
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