“Opponents in the ring, brothers in real life” - Eduard Folayang and Shinya Aoki share a moment ahead of ONE X in Singapore 

Eduard Folayang and Shinya Aoki had a fierce rivalry that spawned a trilogy in the circle, but you wouldn’t know it if you saw them hanging out at the hotel lobby earlier this week.

Folayang ended Aoki’s first reign as ONE lightweight world champion in 2016. They diverged on to different paths after their initial meeting. ‘The Landslide’ lost his world title to Martin Nguyen the following year. Meanwhile, ‘Tobikan Judan’ pursued other interests, like competing in the first submission grappling match in ONE Championship against Garry Tonon.

However, they would both regain their form. In 2019, Aoki got his revenge by putting a halt to Folayang’s second world title reign. Last year, the two stepped into the circle once more to complete their trilogy, which Aoki won via a first-round armbar submission.

Team Lakay’s official Facebook page shared a picture of the two former world champions together as they caught up in Singapore.

The caption reads:

“Opponents in the ring, brothers in real life! Eduard Folayang meets Shinya Aoki at Singapore... We see them as enemies in the ring, but on the back of that stage, they are both friends and brothers! That is what martial arts is all about.”

See Team Lakay's Facebook post below:

The two legends will compete in back-to-back matches at ONE X: Grand Finale. Folayang will participate in his first ONE Super Series match as he goes up against a 100th win-seeking John Wayne Parr. Meanwhile, Aoki will settle another rivalry when he faces Yoshihiro Akiyama in the following bout.

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Eduard Folayang basks in the company of champions

The massive ONE X card features an incredible collection of athletes in a single venue, which Eduard Folayang took full advantage of.

As he prepared for his medical check-up, Folayang took a picture of the people with whom he was sharing the room.

Check out Folayang's picture with Adriano Moraes, Superbon, and Rodtang Jitmuangnon:

The photo shows ONE flyweight world champion Adriano Moraes, ONE flyweight Muay Thai world champion Rodtang Jitmuangnon, and ONE featherweight kickboxing world champion Superbon, who all struck poses behind Eduard Folayang. All of these champions are heading to action at ONE X: Grand Finale together with Folayang and Aoki.

Superbon will defend his world title against Marat Grigorian in the opening bout of the card. Moraes takes the stage after Aoki’s match, as he puts his world title on the line against the streaking Yuya Wakamatsu. In the penultimate bout of the event, Rodtang will square off against Demetrious Johnson in a highly anticipated special-rules superfight.