Shinya Aoki vs. Future and Former UFC fighters

So I calculated Shinya Aoki's record against fighters that either previously fought in the UFC or went on to fight in the UFC.

Collectively he is 10 - 4 - 0 - 0 against fighters that either had previously fought in the UFC or went on to fight in the UFC.

His future/former UFC opponents were a collective 21 - 34 - 2 - 0 in the UFC.

He went 9 - 1 - 0 - 0 against fighters who would go on to be in the UFC. Those opponents went collectively 15 - 25 - 1 - 0 in the UFC.

He is 2 - 3 - 0 against opponents whom had previously fought in the UFC (why do his records against former and future fighters not add up to his collective record against both sets of fighters? Because some of them fought in the UFC both before and after they fought him).

The collective UFC record of fighters who fought in the UFC before they fought Shinya Aoki was 6 - 9 - 1 - 0.

If you are wondering if I'm trying to prove a point....no. I just picked a random very good fighter outside the UFC to collect this kind of data on for my own interest and thought I would share.

Feel free to discuss and correct me if you notice anything off.

 

I don't care what Shinya Aoki's record was. When he takes someone down, there's a high probability he's going to get the submission victory, which is why I like watching his bouts. I stayed up late to watch live on HDNet.

It's ridiculous that UFC lowballed him.

 

Stats aren't really the useful if you don't have an aim what you tried to find first.
Aoki is a great submission artist, who relies a lot on JMMA's rule that doesn't punish
fighter in the guard position, and allows long tight pants that increase friction.
His downfall is all powerful wrestlers who refuse to play his game.

 

Specify please? Because it's Aoki himself who chose Singapore/Japan over UFC.
He even gave many interviews about how he got paid better in Japan/Singapore,
and happy there. :icon_neut

 

I did have a clear sense of the stat I wanted, his record against opponents whom either previously fought in the UFC, or whom would go on to fight in the UFC....which is 10 - 4 - 0 - 0.

 

i actually disagree with a lot of that.

i don't think he relies on a rule in JMMA that doesn't punish him for being in guard. the idea that the long pants played any significant role in his success has been pretty thoroughly debunked. and he has obviously beaten powerful wrestlers who couldn't help but play his game.

 

i love aokis submission game, but his striking is terrible

 

Shinya Aoki hasn't worn long pants in like 11 fights ago or so. How many more fights does he have to wear shorts for it to register in your head?

 

A_OK_I doesn't lose. He just runs out of time.

 

He dragged his butt over to Singapore to work with the muay thai guys. He hasn't had many bouts with ONE FC, so hasn't really showcased whether or not he improved his striking game.

Consider the fact he has to be pretty smart to become such a killer submission artist. I'm guessing he can apply his brain power to improving his striking at least a tiny bit. Look at how wrestler Koscheck evolved into a more well rounded guy. Same with BJJ Rockhold into kickboxing.

 

That elbow attempt during the Alvarez rematch made me cringe.

 

yeah, that elbow aside, i don't think his striking recently is that bad.

 

No one's perfect. He's allowed to have a few brain farts here and there, especially after having stopped so many guys quick and easy like Kawajiri, Alvarez in Japan, Beerbohm, Hello Japan guy, Razor Rob.

 

To be fair, the canvas of the Bellator cage was different than the canvas in DREAM and ONE FC, so he had a lot of unexpected friction to deal with.

Imagine playing on grass your whole life and then suddenly having to deal with some fancy AstroTurf.

It could have fucked him up and caused the sloppy elbow.

 

King Mo was complaining about slipping and sliding on the Bellator canvas.

 

Yes, but King Mo complains. Other than wrestling, it is the best tool in his arsenal.

 

If you look carefully, at least 78% of the blame can be due to the canvas.




Whereas here, the canvas wasn't like soggy butter grass so A_OK_I was able to let Lumpinee Shinya do his thang.

 

That's cold.

Also, I think Shinya Aoki did well enough with striking to give his training buddy Satoru Kitaoka a bloody nose at least.

 

He did stagger Eddie with a right hand but Eddie getting wobbled isn't new.

 

A very talented and controversial fighter, but difficult to gauge (in terms of where he belongs in Top 10-20, etc) because he fought majority of fights outside US big leagues, and seemed to be outclassed when he did fight in US.