Eduard Folayang says fighting in Japan his chance to “restore the things” he lost in previous defeats to fellow legend Shinya Aoki

Eduard Folayang is setting his friendship with Shinya Aoki aside in his quest for redemption in Japan.

The two legends will square off in a lightweight MMA tussle at the stacked ONE 172: Takeru vs. Rodtang card on March 23 at the historic Saitama Super Arena.

In an interview with The MMA Superfan, Folayang said taking on his good friend in Japan would erase the bitter memories of his losses at the hands of the Japanese legend.

Eduard Folayang said:

"Of course. If the card turns out on my side, then it’s a very good thing for me to restore the things that I lost during that time."

The former ONE lightweight MMA world champions have squared off three times in their storied careers, the first two of which were fought over the division's throne.

Folayang drew first blood in their rivalry when he dethroned Aoki for the ONE lightweight MMA world title with a vicious third-round technical knockout in November 2016 in Singapore.

In March 2019, Aoki got his revenge when he stopped Folayang's second reign with the gold with a calculated arm-triangle choke submission in the first round of their world title rematch in Tokyo.

Aoki then broke the stalemate with another first-round submission, this time with an armbar, in his trilogy match against Folayang in April 2021 in Singapore.

Despite their rivalry over the lightweight MMA throne, Folayang and Aoki developed a close friendship heading into the twilight of their careers.

That friendship, however, will be put to the side when they put on a possible barnburner in Aoki's homeland.

Tickets for ONE 172 are available at EPlus, and the entire card will be streamed live at watch.onefc.com.

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Eduard Folayang plans to unleash his bag of tricks against Shinya Aoki in Saitama

Despite being a natural striker, Eduard Folayang plans to unleash his full MMA arsenal when he faces off against his close friend Shinya Aoki in Japan.

In the same interview with The MMA Superfan, Folayang said:

"The most important thing of all is how we can implement the game plan and what we need to do in the fight. After all, those years of experience will be nothing if were are not able to deliver the execution perfectly. There are a lot of possible results and it will really depend on how we are able to develop and stick to the game plan we are formulating."

Watch the Filipino legend's entire interview below: