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The story
At the mixed martial arts event ‘Cho-RIZIN.5,’ a matchup was set between Mikuru Asakura and Shinya Aoki, and in the run-up to the fight, 5ch lit up with predictions about who had the edge. Aoki, born May 9, 1983, is a 43-year-old veteran known since his PRIDE days for slick submission grappling. Asakura, by contrast, is a popular fighter who built his name through events like BreakingDown, with some pointing out that ground fighting is his weak point. Predictions split along lines of age and track record, with some calling for an Aoki win and others betting on an Asakura punch KO, and the thread grew lively with talk spilling over into Ren Hiramoto’s judged decision on the same card and the names of veterans like Kazushi Sakuraba and Masato.
What people said
Wish Aoki could win it though
Main event's Shaidulaev
Shinya Aoki (43)
Born May 9, 1983
Apparently.
I'm not paying attention to this at all, so "all of Japan is watching" is just wrong.
Pro wrestling's the only thing I care about — specifically All Japan-style promotions and joshi (women's) wrestling.
Aoki's beaten well-known guys, so I'm calling it for Aoki.
Did he juuust make it into PRIDE?
he's the guy whose entrance song is by Ulfuls — always gets the crowd hyped.
is this Dautbek guy any good?
What's there to even watch him for?
and before that, Ren Hiramoto was just too strong.
Wasn't he winning up until then?
If he kicks, his leg's getting caught for sure — he'll get taken down and armbarred before he knows what hit him.
is Hiramoto actually okay after this…?
However you slice it, that's a unanimous loss.
"wait, THIS counts as a win?"
Guess the pros thought so too, huh.
Putting 1,000,000 Pelica on Aoki (Pelica = the fictional in-game currency from Monster Hunter, forum slang for a joke bet).
Don-mai vs. Lord Tomizawa,
but that got cancelled and my hype crashed instantly.
He looks like he'd be totally weak, but
turns out he's crazy strong lol
He can't beat anyone actually strong, so it's just farming easy wins off a washed-up guy in his 40s lol
Back in the PRIDE days, Yoshida used to pop the opponent's dislocated arm back into place himself lol
Wait, you can even do that? lol
anyone who comes at him thinking "he's just some old man" gets destroyed instantly
by Aoki.
If some amateur underestimated him, they'd probably get shoved down easy and end up with a broken arm lol
Yeah, I guess you really can't ask Sakuraba to do this anymore.
Didn't think Aoki had slipped this much.
Why couldn't he finish it even after taking it to the ground?
Well duh, how old do you think he is lol
In his prime he might've just wrecked Mikuru standing, easy.
It's like "noooo stop, pleeeease Mikuru!" 😭
Aoki's 43, right? Isn't he stopping this a bit too late…
Guess that's just how it goes at this age.
maybe Mikuru Asakura vs. Masato (47)
could work instead.
If it's Mikuru Asakura vs. Masato,
I'm rooting for Asakura — obviously want him to wreck him under MMA rules lol
the other half's "World's Assassin" die-hards (Asakura's nickname/fanbase) and BreakingDown otaku.
And that's enough to draw a crowd this big? Weird world we live in.
versus Musashi, who's gone toe-to-toe with heavyweight monsters from all over the world —
that gap's never going to close.
Mikuru Asakura, getting one-sidedly beaten down and KO'd by a retired Floyd Mayweather.
https://spread-sports.jp/wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/1664088933-1843423985.jpg
Musashi, dropping heavyweight boxer Mercer right from the opening bell.
https://gonkaku.jp/system/images/attachments/000/027/632/medium/image-1592885890.jpg
Mercer would later get KO'd by Tim Sylvia in seconds in the UFC.
Background and Key Talking Points
RIZIN is Japan’s largest mixed martial arts promotion, with Mikuru Asakura as one of its headline draws, and ‘Cho-RIZIN.5′ is one of its special events. Shinya Aoki is a seasoned veteran who has wielded submission grappling as his weapon since the PRIDE and DEEP eras, and the thread was full of references to his track record of “breaking opponents’ arms.” Opinions split between those who valued Asakura’s name recognition and entertainment appeal and those who rated Aoki as the stronger fighter based on his and his past opponents’ records — with even the age gap (Aoki is 43) read by some as a handicap and by others as a mark of experience. Note that this thread was created before the fight started as a prediction thread, and does not include any posts reporting the actual result.
※This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Hello! Project board) thread “In just one hour, the fight all of Japan’s watching for — Cho-RIZIN5: Mikuru Asakura vs. Shinya Aoki! Who do you think wins?“
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