ONE Championship 126: Shinya Aoki reaches submission milestone, finishes James Nakashima

Japanese MMA icon Shinya Aoki notched his 30th career submission by defeating James Nakashima at ONE Championship 126.

Japanese MMA icon [autotag]Shinya Aoki[/autotag] reached a career milestone as the former ONE lightweight champion notched the 30th submission win of his career at “ONE Championship 126: Unbreakable” in Singapore.

Matched against former LFA welterweight champion [autotag]James Nakashima[/autotag], Aoki (46-9) took charge of the bout early in the first round as, after some clinch work against the cage, “Tobikan Judan” leapt onto Nakashima’s (12-2) back before locking up a body triangle and following up with a rear-naked choke to claim the win at the 2:42 mark.

Aoki’s win saw him become ONE Championship’s all-time leader in submission finishes with eight, and extended his remarkable tally of overall submission finishes to 30. It also extended his winning streak as he continued his return to form following his title loss to Christian Lee in May 2019 with his third consecutive victory.

While one former champion shined in Singapore, it proved to be a nightmare for another ex-champ, as former welterweight titleholder [autotag]Zebaztian Kadestam[/autotag] was quickly taken down and submitted by rising Russian contender [autotag]Gadzhimurad Abdulaev[/autotag].

Abdulaev (6-0) secured an early takedown and immediately took the Swedish fighter’s back, locking in his position with a body triangle. Kadestam (12-6) attempted to fight the hands as Abdulaev worked for a rear-naked choke but, despite being prevented from lacing his arm under the former champion’s chin, Abdulaev simply switched to a face crank and applied the pressure to force the tap and secure an eye-catching first-round finish.

Also on the card, women’s atomweight contender [autotag]Meng Bo[/autotag] (17-5) continued her run toward a title shot with a unanimous decision over Brazil’s [autotag]Samara Santos[/autotag] (11-8-1), while Filipino striker [autotag]Lito Adiwang[/autotag] scored a one-punch knockout of Japan’s [autotag]Namiki Kawahara[/autotag] to bounce back into the win column.

Team Lakay’s Adiwang (12-3), who earned his spot on the ONE roster via the promotion’s talent-finding ONE Warrior Series, saw his two-fight win streak come to an end after losing a split decision to Hiroshi Minowa in November 2020. But “The Thunder Kid” returned to action in style and decked Kawahara (7-4-2) with a perfectly timed left hand in the second round to return to winning ways in fine style.

ONE Championship 126 results include:

  • Shinya Aoki def. James Nakashima via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 2:42
  • Gadzhimurad Abdulaev def. Zebaztian Kadestam via submission (face crank) – Round 1, 2:08
  • Meng Bo def. Samara Santos via unanimous decision
  • Lito Adiwang def. Namiki Kawahara via knockout (punch) – Round 2, 2:02