Fresh from beating Eddie Alvarez at FiELDS Dynamite! and claiming the money WAMMA belt, Shinya Aoki tells Sherdog where he thinks he rates:
"I think there's no doubt that B.J. Penn is still the best at 155 pounds. He's most likely the best fighter in the world. I don't ignore the UFC," Aoki commented. "I respect the UFC because it's a very high level organization -- a high summit in the sport."
The UFC lightweight king also figures into Aoki's hopes for the as-yet uncertain future.
"Personally, the most decisive fight in the world, the culmination, the pinnacle for me is B.J. Penn," Aoki said on the eve of arguably his greatest victory. "Please do not misunderstand -- I really need this to be clearly expressed in the media: Shinya Aoki will not go to the UFC. I just want to fight B.J. Penn. This is my selfish wish. I know that everyone says they want Penn, but I think I'm the number one Japanese fighter to be saying this."
Presumably Aoki is clarifying that he won't go to the UFC to keep in good terms with the overlords of DREAM/K-1. Of course that will prevent him from fighting B.J. Penn any time soon.
