Shinya Aoki Pulls Double Duty Headlining ONE FC Cards in August and October
Former DREAM lightweight champion Shinya Aoki will be pulling double duty for ONE FC over the next few months.
Aoki is currently slated to headline the upcoming Aug. 31 “Pride of a Nation” fight card in Manili, and according to ONE FC CEO Victor Cui, who spoke with MMAWeekly.com on Wednesday, an announcement should be made shortly regarding his opponent.
“He's still slated for the Aug. 31 card,” Cui responded via email regarding Aoki.
In addition to Aoki's place at the top of that card, he will also headline the next major ONE FC show coming up on Oct. 6 in Singapore titled “Rise of Kings.” The newly announced card will feature a headline super fight between Aoki and French Muay Thai fighter Arnaud Lepont.
The super fight between Aoki and Lepont will headline the card, but ONE FC will also debut three titles at the Oct. 6 show.
It's the first time ONE FC has crowned a champion, and the growing Asian promotion looks to continue its expansion with the upcoming show in its home base of Singpore.
“We are coming back to Singapore to put on one of the greatest fight cards in Asian MMA history and to add icing to the cake, we will crown an incredible three world champions and have our first super fight,” said ONE FC CEO Victor Cui via press release.
“Singapore will witness Shinya Aoki and Arnaud Lepont in a super fight that showcases two of the toughest lightweight fighters in Asia. With the largest pool of the top MMA talent in Asia, I have decided that the time is perfect to introduce three ONE FC world titles. This card is going to be epic and fans can expect to see some incredible fights come Oct. 6.”
Also expected to appear on the card will be striker Melvin Manhoef, Singapore's first MMA fighter Radeem Rahman, as well as rising star Zorobabel Moreira.
For more information on the One FC: Pride of a Nation card check out the MMAWeekly.com MMA Rumors Page.
