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Eduard Folayang is honored to be fighting Shinya Aoki again next month.
On March 23, two MMA legends, Folayang and Aoki, will battle in a lightweight trilogy bout at ONE 172.
Folayang and Aoki first fought in November 2016 at ONE: Defending Honor. The Filipino superstar created a special moment that night by securing a third-round knockout to become the new lightweight MMA world champion.
In March 2019, Aoki successfully avenged the defeat with a first-round submission to regain the world title from Folayang.
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During an interview with The MMA Superfan, Folayang had this to say about the honor of fighting Aoki for a third time:
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"For me right now going into the fight with Shinya, I just take it as an honor. I take it as a very big thing that happens in my career as a fighter and as the face of Philippine MMA."
Eduard Folayang vs. Shinya Aoki 3 is one of many entertaining matchups taking place inside the Saitama Super Arena for ONE 172.
In the main event, Rodtang and Takeru Segawa will battle in a non-title flyweight kickboxing bout that has been anticipated since the latter signed with the promotion.
The March 23 spectacle also features five world title fights, including Superlek vs. Nabil Anane (bantamweight Muay Thai unification) and Adriano Moraes vs. Yuya Wakamatsu 2 (vacant flyweight MMA).
Watch Folayang's entire interview with The MMA Superfan below:
Eduard Folayang seeking second consecutive win for first time since 2018
Eduard Folayang last fought in September 2023, defeating Amir Khan by third-round knockout to end his five-fight losing streak.
The last time that Folayang won consecutive fights was in 2018 when he defeated Kharun Atlangeriev, Aziz Phrudinov, and Amir Khan.
At ONE 172, the 41-year-old Filipino legend looks to prove he has enough gas left in the tank for another world title reign.
As for Shinya Aoki, the Japanese's legend last MMA fight was a first-round submission win against John Lineker, who stepped in on a few hour's notice.
Before taking out Lineker, Aoki was coming off back-to-back KO/TKO defeats in the sports against Yoshihiro Akiyama and Saygid Izagakhmaev.
