ONE Championship is switching things up.
The promotion announced Tuesday that former ONE lightweight titleholder Shinya Aoki is slated to meet decorated jiu-jitsu ace Garry Tonon in a grappling-only match as part of its ONE: Dynasty of Heroes event on May 26 in Singapore, which is headlined by Angela Lee’s next defense of her ONE atomweight title.
Aoki (39-7, 1 NC), a mat specialist with 25 submission finishes on his MMA résumé, is no stranger to grappling-only events. The 33-year-old has competed in a litany of such contests throughout his mixed martial arts career, including a 2013 match against Kron Gracie at Metamoris 2 and an infamous exhibition match against Fedor Emelianenko back in 2009.