Shinya Aoki returns to RIZIN for Super RIZIN 5 in Osaka

Shinya Aoki competes in the co-main event at Super RIZIN 5 in Osaka on Thursday. He faces Mikuru Asakura in his first appearance for the promotion in a decade. Aoki previously headlined the inaugural RIZIN event in 2015 with a win over Kazushi Sakuraba. The fighter describes this return as a move to find closure regarding the dissolution of the MMA promotion DREAM, which left fans and athletes without a definitive end to its historical legacy. While he has fought in Japan under the ONE banner in recent years, Aoki distinguishes those bouts from this return to a promotion he identifies as deeply rooted in Japanese combat sports history. He notes that RIZIN functions as a modern sport-focused organization, differing significantly from the era of PRIDE.

• 1:00 PMYahoo Sports — A decade later, Shinya Aoki returns to RIZIN looking for full closure