Aoki wins on debut; eyes One FC title

By Marcus Chhan

The legendary Aoki, who many still see as the face of Asian MMA, eased to victory over Lepont with a triangle choke submission after just 1:25 minutes of round 1.

The Frenchman, nicknamed "The Game", had been at his playful best leading up to Saturday's Super Fight at a sold-out Singapore Indoor Stadium, egging the Japanese fighter with some humorous pre-match antics. However, once Aoki brought the fight to the ground it was game over for "The Game" as he succumbed to a triangle choke submission.

Aoki's celebrations, though, were noticeably filled with more emotion than usual and at one point the former Dream fighter slumped to his knees in tears at the centre of the cage.

"I am very happy because in Japan the Martial Arts scene is dying and there are no big shows anymore and Dream has closed down," Aoki told ESPNSTAR.com with the help of a translator.

"I was very concerned about my future as a professionalfighter as there were no more big shows [like Rise of Kings] in Japan. Evolve MMA rescued me and took me under its wing.

"I feel very indebted to Evolve and One FC and that's why I cried because winning [Saturday's match] was very meaningful."

Earlier in the evening, Evolve favourite Zoro Moreira was defeated by Japan's Kotetsu Boku, who was crowned as the first ever One FC Lightweight World Champion as a result.

It was an enthralling contest which only ended by TKO at 1:02 minutes of round 3. The Japanese gives up 12CM in height to the Brazilian but his superior punching ability was always going to make him a difficult opponent.

And so it proved midway through the first round with Boku landing a huge right hand to fell Moreira. The Evolve fighter recovered well and then proceeded to exert his own influence on the match through his kicking.

In round 2, Moreira went to work on Boku's left thigh with some accurate and powerful sweeping kicks. It was in this round where the Krazy Bee fighter looked on the verge of the defeat - his legs had clearly gone and he did tremendously well to defend against Moreira as the bell sounded for the end of the round.

Walking to his corner, the Japanese incredibly had a smile on his face. Just over a minute into round 3, and it was clear why he had so much confidence. Another strong right hand by Boku connected with Moreira's face causing the Brazilian to wobble and to use the side of the cage for support. An instant later, Moreira was struggling to stand on his own, yet alone defend himself, as Boku launched a flurry of right handed shots causing the referee to step in and end the fight.

Boku was deservedly awarded the inaugural One FC Lightweight World Champion belt after somehow surviving a battering of kicks on his left thigh.

"Tomorrow, I might have trouble sitting on the toilet," Boku said at ringside, much to the amusement of the Singapore Indoor Stadium crowd.

One person who was not happy was Shinya Aoki.

"My best friend on the [Evolve] fight team is Zoro Moreira and he lost tonight so I want revenge," Aoki said.

"I want a title shot [against Kotetsu Boku]."

In the night's other action, Korea's Soo Chul Kim wasted no time against Leandro Issa in winning the inaugural One FC Bantamweight World Title. He landed a hard right hand to knock his opponent to the canvas and finished him off with a series of strikes at just 15 seconds of round 2. 

Dutchman Melvin Manhoef continued his impressive record of knocking out his opponents by stopping Ryo Kawamura at 4:40 minutes of round 1 in a middleweight clash. Manhoef lived up to his nickname of "No Mercy" by flooring his Japanese rival with a sweet right hand.

"I caught him," Manhoef said.

It was a popular conclusion from the punters point of view as Kawamura offered little in the first round. The Japanese fighter adopted a bizarre defensive strategy against Manhoef which saw him constantly wobbling and moving his body in an awkward manner in a bid to avoid getting hit by the big Dutchman's right hand.

"I am not here for dancing," Manhoef said.

He added: "I really like Singapore."

"There's a lot of appreciation for what I do [here]. I am an entertainer and I want to knock people out. This is how I want to represent myself all around the world, by knocking people out."

Manhoef now has 24 KOs on his fighter's rap sheet.

The first round of the One FC Bantamweight Grand Prix also played out on Saturday at Rise of Kings. American Jens Pulver defeated Zhao Ya Fei from China by unanimous decision in round 3, Japanese Masakatsu Ueda defeated Korean Min Jung Song by unanimous decision in round 3 and Filipino Champion Kevin Belingon defeated Russian Yusup Saadulaev by TKO in round 1.

All three fighters will advance to the second round of the Grand Prix which will be held at upcoming One FC events. The winner will contend for the One FC Bantamweight World Championship title in 2013.

Official results for One FC Rise of Kings:

Shinya Aoki def. Arnaud Lepont by triangle choke submission at 1:25 minutes of round 1.

Kotetsu Boku def. Zorobabel Moreira by TKO at 1:02 minutes of round 3.

Soo Chul Kim def. Leandro Issa by KO at 15 seconds of round 2.

Melvin Manhoef def. Ryo Kawamura by KO at 4:40 minutes of round 1.

Jens Pulver def. Zhao Ya Fei by unanimous decision of round 3.

Masakatsu Ueda def. Min Jung Song by unanimous decision at 3:00 minutes of round 3.

Kevin Belingon def.Yusup Saadulaev by TKO at 3:18 minutes of round 1.

Gianni Subba def. Bruce Loh by KO at 33 seconds of round 1.

Mitch Chilson def. Ngabdi Mulyadi by TKO at 3:57 minutes of round 2.