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07/01/10 - Sengoku calls for Aoki to be "severely reprimanded" by DREAM/K-1
Sengoku has made an official representation to DREAM and parent company K-1, asking that Shinya Aoki be penalised for the bad sportsmanship he displayed against Hirota after beating him in the New Year’s Eve fight.
The move is being supported by an organisation called the Japanese Martial Arts Federation, which issued a joint statement with Sengoku and called for DREAM to chastise Aoki for what he did “to ensure that such a display of bad sportsmanship is never repeated”.
Aoki broke Sengoku lightweight champion Hirota’s arm with a hammerlock after Hirota apparently refused to submit. He then leapt to his feet and extended his middle finger to Hirota while shouting abuse him, before delivering this same treatment to Hirota’s corner team.
The display was roundly condemned as classless by MMA media around the world but Aoki was unapologetic afterwards, suggesting only that mild annoyance at Hirota refusing to submit was the cause of his actions. However, there was tension between the two even before the fight.
Whatever the reasons behind Aoki’s actions, the fiercely conservative Japanese public were not overly impressed with him and the call for him to be censured may go nowhere, but will certainly be understood and supported by many Japanese MMA fans.
The letter says that Aoki committed “unforgivable” acts and expresses both organisation’s “regret and strongest possible protest” regarding them. It goes on to say that while there was serious tension between the two fighters prior to the bout, Aoki is “one of the most influential Japanese lightweights” and had a duty to behave appropriately.
“Despite the best chance to improve the status of mixed martial arts nationwide, Aoki‘s actions after the fight threw that opportunity down the toilet,” is how the New Year’s Eve event is seen by the Federation, which also castigated Aoki for “repeatedly running proudly around the ring” when he had finished taunting his opponent.
The letter concludes by calling for Aoki to be “severely reprimanded” as an example to the Japanese martial arts community. The penalty suggested is a ban from competing for some months, similar to the one imposed on Badr Hari when he soccer-kicked a prone Remy Bonjasky while fighting under K-1 rules.
John Joe O’Regan
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