It didn’t take long for Shinya Aoki to do what he does best. The former DREAM lightweight champion ran through brash French challenger Arnaud Lepont at ONE FC 6, submitting him via triangle in just over a minute in the very first round.
The bout wasn’t close even for a few seconds.
Within seconds of the bell initiating the action, Aoki clinched with Lepont and used and outside trip/body lock takedown to bring the Frenchman to the mat. Within seconds, the disparity in grappling ability was in glaring display as Aoki moved to mount, grapevined Lepont’s legs to secure position, then transitioned to high mount as Lepont struggled helplessly underneath.
A few well-placed hammerfists from Aoki gave him all the opening he needed as he reaped Lepont’s left arm as the Frenchman tried to block Aoki’s ground and pound. The Japanese fighter then angled for an arm bar, but needed more room as the two fighters were close to the fence.
Lepont tried to roll through as Aoki adjusted, but to no avail. Aoki countered his maneuvering by transitioning to a triangle choke, and subsequently rolled to his own back to finish the submission. Lepont grimaced from the squeeze for a few seconds before going completely unconscious. Referee Yuji Shimata called a halt to the action at 1:25 of the very first round.
Following the win, Aoki grabbed the microphone from ONE FC commentator Jason Chambers and exclaimed to the crownd in attendance at the Indoor Singapore Arena, “I want a title shot!” before falling to his knees, sobbing from relief.