A decade later, Shinya Aoki returns to RIZIN looking for full closure

Shinya Aoki is returning to RIZIN after a decade away, headlining the promotion's first event back in 2015 with a dominant six-minute submission victory over Kazushi Sakuraba. Now 43 years old, the legendary Japanese lightweight will face striking star Mikuru Asakura in the co-main event of Super RIZIN 5 in Osaka on Thursday, marking a homecoming he never expected.

After his initial RIZIN appearance, Aoki signed with ONE Championship, where he became lightweight champion. His return to Japan carries deeper significance than a simple comeback—Aoki views it as providing closure to Japanese MMA's troubled history. When PRIDE collapsed and was absorbed by the UFC, the promotion DREAM emerged under former PRIDE executives but ultimately faded without clear resolution, leaving fans and fighters in limbo. For Aoki, fighting in RIZIN in 2026 represents completing what DREAM could not achieve for Japanese combat sports.

Despite initial concerns about fan reception after a decade away and his time spent fighting internationally under the ONE banner—a company with limited presence in Japan—Aoki expressed surprise and gratitude at how warmly RIZIN supporters welcomed his return. He acknowledged the vast differences between modern MMA and the PRIDE era of the 2000s, noting that current RIZIN operates as a sport rather than the spectacle-driven product PRIDE offered. Aoki emphasized that his absence from Japanese MMA felt longer because ONE, though operating events in Japan, targeted an international audience rather than serving the Japanese combat sports tradition rooted in UWF history.

Looking ahead, Aoki has no immediate title aspirations despite his legendary resume. Instead, he aims to pursue interesting matchups, potentially competing in new territories like Brazil or Russia, and expressed interest in showcase legend fights under the MVP MMA banner—the new promotion created from PFL's merger with RIZIN's partner. His fight against Asakura, a 34-year-old RIZIN veteran with 13 wins who has defeated current champion Luiz Gustavo and former titleholders Kleber Koike and Chihiro Suzuki, represents his next step in what he describes as an already-transitional phase toward retirement.