By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
TOKYO — ONE Championship world lightweight champion Eduard “Landslide” Folayang of the Philippines will make his first title defense since returning to the top of the division in “ONE: A New Era” here this weekend against former champ and hometown bet Shinya “Tobikan Judan” Aoki.
It is a fight that the Team Lakay stalwart said he is expecting to require only the best from him, more so since it is happening in enemy territory.
But instead of being intimidated, Mr. Folayang (21-6) said he is undaunted by fighting in Mr. Aoki’s backyard, knowing that he will be coming in prepared and ready to fly the Philippine flag come fight night.
“I’m sure he is preparing hard because he’s fighting on his home turf but I’m ready for him,” said Mr. Folayang, 34, of his upcoming fight, which is the headliner for ONE Championship’s stacked first foray in Japan, happening at the Ryogoku Kokugikan on March 31.
“I’m not putting too much pressure on myself. I’m just going to give my best in his hometown. I’m excited to fight in Japan, the home of martial arts,” he added.
Mr. Folayang, who defeated Amir Khan of Singapore to recapture the lightweight gold in November, went on to say that he is very comfortable in fighting on the road, highlighting his track record in fights away from home.
“If you look at my record I have had great success fighting away from the Philippines. I enjoy representing the country,” he said.
He also said that his upcoming fight with Mr. Aoki (42-8) is a totally different fight from their first encounter in 2016 where he defeated the Japanese legend by a third-round technical knockout in Singapore to lay his hands on the lightweight championship for the first time.
“I think we already made a statement in our previous fight and the win. This will be a whole new fight. I will face a new and improved Shinya and he will face a new and improved Eduard,” he said.
As to how he is approaching his second fight with Mr. Aoki, 35, the Filipino champion said the game plan is to take him out within the distance if the opportunity presents itself even as he said it will take a lot to achieve such a feat.
“I am certainly not taking him lightly. Shinya is and will always be a legend in my eyes. That being said, I’m preparing to take him out on March 31st. In my mind, I finish him within the distance,” Mr. Folayang said.
“If he does successfully take me down to the mat, I have to remain calm and work to escape. The thing with Shinya is, if he’s able to bring you into his world, it can be extremely dangerous, especially if you panic. You are prone to making mistakes and trust me, he recognizes every opening,” he added, referring to Mr. Aoki’s vaunted takedown and ground game.
Apart from the Folayang-Aoki title fight, also on tap at ONE: A New Era is the champion-versus-champion battle between women’s strawweight world champion Xiong Jing Nan of China and women’s atomweight champion Angela Lee of Singapore for the former’s belt.
Also part of the card is the middleweight world championship collision of champion Aung La N Sang of Myanmar against Ken Hasegawa of Japan as well as the world bantamweight title clash of champion Kevin Belingon of the Philippines against Brazilian Bibiano Fernandes.
A New Era will see the ONE debut as well of mixed martial arts legends Demetrious Johnson and Eddie Alvarez in separate grand prix matches with Filipino flyweight Danny Kingad also set to see action.
The event will be available live for viewing on the ONE Championship app while in the Philippines it can be seen at ABS-CBN S+A beginning at 6 p.m. and iWant Sports.