RealGM

Only in Japan.

Famed heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko will meet lightweight stand-out Shinya Aoki during a five-minute "special exhibition" at an April 29 M-1 Challenge (presented by Affliction) event in Tokyo, the organization today announced.

Rules for the contest are still being negotiated.

And considering nearly 70 pounds and four weight classes separate the fighters, expect some safety precautions to be put in place. The bout could end up being more of a grappling session by the time the official rules are announced.

The Emelianenko vs. Aoki bout will join a 19-fight card that includes head-to-head M-1 Challenge matchups between host country Japan vs. England, Team USA West vs. South Korea, and Spain vs. France.

Emelianenko and Aoki, who both hold WAMMA world titles in their respective weight classes, are two of the most popular fighters in Japan, so the exhibition is likely to be a hit with fans.

Emelianenko (30-1), a World Combat Sambo champion who will compete in the Abu Dhabi Combat Club's submission fighting championships later this year, last competed in January when he defeated former UFC champ Andrei Arlovski at Affliction's "Day of Reckoning" show. The 32-year-old former PRIDE champ is undefeated in his past 27 fights.

Aoki (20-4), a standout grappler who's ended 12 of his 20 career wins via submission, last competed in April, when he suffered a 27-second TKO loss to welterweight Hayato Sakurai at DREAM.8. Aoki is 15-2 (with one no-contest) in his past 18 fights.

cowboyronnie wrote:they're not fighitng, it's a demo

cowboyronnie wrote:they're not fighitng, it's a demo

Size doesn't always overcome technique, but it sure helps.

In the latest only-in-Japan booking, fight officials pitted heavyweight star Fedor Emelianenko vs. lightweight stand-out Shinya Aoki in an "exhibition sparring match" that took place today.

The bout, which resembled more of a grappling session, ended when Aoki tapped out to his much-larger opponent.

The exhibition was part of Wednesday's Deep/M-1 Challenge event at the Differ Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan. However, because of existing broadcast deals in the U.S., fight officials ultimately decided to black out the Emelianenko vs. Aoki matchup from telecasts worldwide. (However, M-1 will make the fight available online for free beginning May 4.)

Emelianenko easily man-handled his opponent and suplexed him to the mat, according to a report from Sportsnavi.com, though a friendly tone accompanied the match. Emelianenko reportedly would give up a submission attempt to try another and even allowed Aoki to slap on a hold so he could power his way free. Aoki ultimately tapped out from an Achilles lock three minutes into the scheduled five-minute fight.

Credit nightmareofbattle.wordpress.com

The exhibition was three minutes long. Below is a rough summary of how it played out. Remember that it was just an exhibition, they weren’t seriously trying to rip each others limbs off.

Fedor took Aoki down and showed some ground and pound motions. Aoki got back to his feet and went for a flying armbar which he then turned into a leg submission attempt. Back in standing position Fedor took Aoki down for the second time. Aoki went for an armbar from guard but Fedor lifted him up and dropped him on the mat.



The match went back to standing position where Fedor threw a right high kick. However, Aoki went for a takedown which was successful. Fedor answered and immediately got back to his feet after disrupting Aoki’s balance on the ground.



Fedor took Aoki down once again. With 40 second left, Aoki threw off his jacket and got fired up, screaming “Oraaaa!”. Aoki threw a right hook and tried taking Fedor down but Fedor ended up on top. Fedor went for a leg with lightning speed which ended the match as Aoki tapped from an achilles hold. At the same time, the gong sounded as the three minutes were up.



Aoki was very respectful afterward, telling a joke, saying it was a good experience and asking the crowd to give a big round of applause to Fedor. Fedor said that he didn’t think there were such strong fighters like this in the Lightweight division. He expressed some respectful words to Aoki and thanked him.

jTF2 wrote:^ sherdog said it would be posted on may 4th for free.