ONE FC 8 set for April 5; Kotetsu Boku defends lightweight title vs. Shinya Aoki

Following this past Saturday's event in Malaysia, ONE FC will return to Singapore in April for a lightweight title fight.

"ONE FC 8: Kings and Champions" will take place April 5 at Singapore Indoor Stadium and will be headlined by a 155-pound title fight between champion Kotetsu Boku (20-7-2) and Shinya Aoki (32-6).

ONE FC officials recently announced the card and headlining fight, which will be broadcast on Star Sports in Asia. Elsewhere, the main card is available as an online pay-per-view ($9.99) following free prelims at onefc.tv.

Boku in October beat Zorobabel Moreira in come-from-behind fashion at ONE FC 6 to win the promotion's inaugural lightweight title in his debut with the company. His fight against Aoki will be his first defense of the belt. Over a run of more than three years, Boku has won six of his past seven fights. The Japanese frequent training partner of Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto holds notable wins over Hermes Franca and Eiji Mitsuoka, but the fight with Aoki will be his biggest to date.

Aoki, one of the most noted submission fighters in MMA history, has won nine of his past 10 fights and 12 of his past 14, with the only losses coming to former Strikeforce champ Gilbert Melendez and former Bellator champ Eddie Alvarez. Aoki submitted Arnaud Lepont at ONE FC 6 to earn his shot at Boku. In December, the DREAM lightweight champion submitted Antonio McKee with a punch at DREAM.18.

DREAM CEO Victor Cui said he expects ONE FC 8 to be the most significant in the promotion's history thanks to the TV deal with Star Sports in Asia.

"This is a huge step in the progress of ONE FC and is a testament to our ever-increasing following all across Asia," Cui stated. "This event will be the biggest in ONE FC history and features the top names in MMA."