Shinya Aoki Takes Offense to Question About His Pants

Shinya Aoki is one of the best lightweights in mixed martial arts, and he's the most exciting submission artist in the sport. And Aoki, who fights in the Japanese Dream promotion, is also well known for the colorful spandex pants he wears in the ring. But don't dare ask Aoki whether those pants help him apply those exciting submissions.

I asked Aoki in an e-mail interview set up by Dream whether his pants aid his grappling skills, and his response (as translated by a Dream PR representative) indicated that he wasn't too pleased with my question.

"It is nothing to do with my grappling skills," Aoki replied. "Anybody who has experience of grappling should know about this. This questions seems for non professional."

Aoki is free to call my question "non professional" all he wants, but the fact remains that it's a common question -- those pants provide traction, and there's no one in MMA who relies on getting a strong grip with his legs more than Aoki does. He'd be a talented submission specialist no matter what he was wearing, but some of his submissions (including the heel hook that got Eddie Alvarez to tap in the above video) would be harder to pull off if he were wearing shorts.

Aoki also told me via e-mail that he expects to fight in the United States. If he ever does, he'll be required to wear shorts -- and we'll see whether his pants have nothing to do with his grappling skills.

For a series of pictures showing the evolution of Aoki's pants, click here.

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

6-25-2009 @ 12:57PM

mike said...

Aoki needs to get over himself. Obviously the pants help or else he wouldn't wear them. How much they help is subject to debate, but they do help some. I'd love to see him fight in the UFC because he's a fun fighter to watch, but guys like BJ Penn, Diego Sanchez and Kenny Florian would out-strike him, while guys like Sean Sherk and Gray Maynard would out-muscle him. He wouldn't be one of the top lightweights in the UFC.

6-25-2009 @ 1:17PM

richardbikle said...

i wear a top in grappling, gi, and no gi to keep my hair from getting pulled, i guess it helps a little but i wouldn't consider it a huge advantage. the material actually has more "glide" when going for a move or making a transition than bare skin. jmo

6-25-2009 @ 1:25PM

Frederick said...

The pants help for sure.

I am no textile expert but I would say they absorb a good amount of the sweat also.

6-25-2009 @ 2:07PM

M13 said...

A very valid point. It's different in Japan though. Fighters in Pride Fighting also wore full Gis. I don't know about the other Japanese organizations, however.

6-25-2009 @ 3:03PM

JohnnyCakes said...

So who says that shorts are the best thing to wear for MMA? Everyone wears those board shorts... a little variety is welcome. board shorts, pants, boxer-brief type shorts should all be legal in MMA

6-26-2009 @ 2:35AM

Scooter Brown said...

They help. So what? His opponents are allowed to wear the same kind of pants if they want and get more friction on their legs too if they want. Strikers have standups and gloves to keep them from breaking their knuckles. Wrestlers have time limits and judges who give them points just for the amount of time they spend on top, and in the US they frequently have cages to sumo people up against. But god forbid anything be allowed to make it LESS of a wrestlebox competition.

6-26-2009 @ 2:40AM

Forgot to mention the gloves making it harder to get chokes.

6-26-2009 @ 11:35AM

chilly16 said...

Its been talked about a million times! Almost every fight in which a fighter is wearing a knee or ankle brace it is brought up by the commentators. Its pretty obvious that pants, like knee and ankle supports aid your opponents submission attempts. Pretty noob Michael David Smith...