Shinya Aoki almost quit MMA & Dana White changed his life

Everyone loves the heel tactics of DREAM lightweight champ/ rainbow tights-wearing Shinya Aoki, from his urge to rip limbs off people’s bodies to flipping off his opponent, then the press, then the crowd, then just kind of marching around like he is a 4-year old who has no idea that what he is doing is wrong. But did you know that there was a time when Shinya Aoki was ready to throw in the towel for good from MMA?

Courtesy of MMA-Japan, and taken from the Japanese book “The Secret Files of Pride”, this excerpt from the book deals with when Aoki temporarily retired from MMA to pursue a career as a law-enforcement officer in Japan. Most hardcore fans of Japanese MMA know that much of the story and were quite happy when we learned Aoki’s retirement was temporary. But what fans do not know is why he wanted to quit and what brought Aoki out of retirement! What did you ask? Dana f’n White! Don’t believe me, check out this interview!

Interviewer: You were the Shooto World Middleweight Champion before you were fighting in Pride and while you were in college. You then joined the police academy to try to find work. Were you moving away from MMA?

Aoki: Yes, it seemed at some point that I just wanted to quit (laughing)

Interviewer: Being such an athlete in the sport, what put you back on this career track?

Aoki: There were many reasons, but the main reason was that I thought this is a world where you have to eat to survive.

Interviewer: So you had to eat….yet you were a college student that was practicing mixed martial arts on the side?

Aoki: That is right. Mixed martial arts was just an interest to begin with. It was clear the guys at the top were making a lot of money, but someone had told me, “Going into MMA just for the money is a bad idea.”

Interviewer: So if you had not have thought like that, there could have been some things you could not have done?

Aoki: Yes, it was probably a little of that as well. I had no money either, so during those times I guess I took a break from MMA. It is sad…I was thinking to myself, “Going like this, I will not be able to ever eat.” Somehow becoming the Shooto Middleweight Champion, I realized that I would not be able to support myself by solely doing MMA. Even if I came from a wealthy family, or owned a dojo, I did not have the will to make the sacrifices to fully commit myself.

Interviewer: Well, at that same time, PRIDE Bushido, and HERO’s were coming up. These events could “feed” a fighter. Did you think you would like to try fighting with them?

Aoki: To be truthful, I really wanted to try. At that time, I felt like my “want to try” feeling was diminishing. I didn’t even care to go to any PRIDE events.

Hit the jump for the rest of the interview!

Interviewer: Oh, really?

Aoki: Before I began fighting in MMA, I was always a fan of watching it. After I actually started it, and engaged in it, I stopped watching it. That was a real conflict. Hasegawa from Koubudo was not around to advise me either.

Interviewer: Hasegawa – your manager?

Aoki: Yes. I did not make much effort. I was struggling with conflict.

Interviewer: I understand. So, when you became the champion in Shooto and said to the audience, “I will not ever fight anywhere but Shooto”, was that a display of the hardships you were facing?

Aoki: Yes. During that time, I was still a child in many ways. So, the PRIDE Bushido events made me grow up. Bushido made me learn to think as a professional, it showed me that if I put the effort in, fighting in MMA will allow me to eat.

Interviewer: When you started with PRIDE Bushido, there was some adjusting, wasn’t there?

Aoki: It was a professional atmosphere in all aspects. The staff would do as much as they could to make sure the fighters would concentrate on the event. They would give us money for food, supplies for the fight, and the locker rooms were stocked with anything we needed. There were no worries as a fighter. Seeing how we were treated, I asked myself, “What am I, a king?”

Interviewer: You made your “King” debut at Bushido (Laughing out loud)

Aoki: With that treatment, they required you to do a lot. They wanted you to win, of course. They wanted to keep the fight exciting for the fans. They wanted you to make professional speeches. By them requesting me to do all this, it made me mature as a professional. It was a huge impact on my career. I thought, “Can you make a living in MMA?” “You can make a living in MMA!”

Interviewer: Before you began fighting for Bushido, you quit your job with the police, correct? Did you quit because you had decided you were able to make a living in MMA?

Aoki: I thought “I have to make a living.”

Interviewer: Did you have any worries (making the transition)?

Aoki: Yes, many.

Interviewer: What lead you to this decision?

Aoki: First, even if I had become a police officer, I wanted to continue to train judo. I had a goal to be in the Olympics. When MMA came into the picture, I was unable to compete in judo.

Interviewer: Ah, the professional judo world is very demanding, isn’t it?

Aoki: I assumed it was okay, but when I started with the police, I found it was absolutely impossible. That was a real shock.

Interviewer: And this made you consider your future?

Aoki: Even if it was not MMA, I wanted to achieve something in the fight sport. While I was attending police college, an offer came from the UFC.

Interviewer: To the police college? (laughing)

Aoki: It came through a foreign connection I had. They offered a certain amount of money and said my opponent would be BJ Penn.

Interviewer: A BJ Penn fight for X dollars?

Aoki: I figured the pay after taking taxes and all expenses out and I figured that if I could somehow fight 4 times a year, I could make ends meet and pay the bills.

Interviewer: Interesting. So, the UFC made its offer, this must have made you realize you could make it as a pro, right?

Aoki: This is what I thought.

Interviewer: So do you have gratitude toward the UFC?

Aoki: Yes! Dana White, thank you! (Laughing)

Pretty wacky, eh? There is much more to this story on MMA-Japan but this is a surprising revelation, and “The Secret Files of Pride” is full of them, which I will be posting more from in the coming weeks! What are your thoughts on this confession from the Baka Survivor?