Shooto today announced an event called Road to ONE 2. It is set for Tokyo on April 17th and will feature Shinya Aoki in a grappling match.
The promotion took to Twitter to reveal the details:
「ROAD to ONE 2nd」4/17に日程&会場を変更 メインイベントは青木真也vs世良智茂！ 「今、本物かどうかが問われている」無観客興行はAbemaTV完全生中継！ さらに追加参戦選手として緑川創らが決定 https://t.co/pFXbzCSDFw#ROADtoONE #ROADtoONE2 #AbemaTV
— MMA-SHOOTO オフィシャル 修斗 (@xshooto) April 3, 2020
Last year Road to ONE: ‘Century’ was co-promoted by Shooto and Pancrase. The card consisted of a mixture of Muay Thai and MMA fights featuring the likes of Kleber Koike Erbst and Kiyotaka Shimizu.
This appears to be the follow up to that event. According to Shooto there will be a live audience and the entire show will be broadcast by Abema TV.
Aoki is best known for his exploits in MMA. He is the former Shooto, Dream and ONE Championship lightweight champion and was last seen choking out Honorio Banario at ONE: ‘Century’ part II last October.
Aoki looks set to return to his judo and jiu jitsu roots to take on fellow BJJ black belt and Quintet veteran Tomoshige Sera. This grappling contest will headline the card which had originally been scheduled for April 12th.
Also in action will be Tsukuru Midorikawa. The Rebels and Knockout veteran had previously been booked to compete on a Rise card this month.
Midorikawa is set to compete in a Muay Thai bout but the identity of his opponent has not been disclosed.
In Japan Pancrase 313 and 314 have both been postponed indefinitely due to the coronavirus, or Covid-19, as has Deep Cage Impact Osaka. Meanwhile Shooto 0329 was cancelled and Rizin 22 and 23 have also been postponed.
Road to ONE 2, Tokyo, April 17th
Grappling: Shinya Aoki vs. Tomoshige Sera
Muay Thai: Tsukuru Midorikawa vs TBA
