"The goal of course is to finish him" - Eduard Folayang out to wrap things early vs Shinya Aoki at ONE 172 in Saitama

Former two-time ONE lightweight MMA world champion Eduard Folayang is looking to replicate his success against Shinya Aoki from their first meeting in November 2016 when he scored a TKO victory against him.

Folayang revealed this during his recent interview with the world's largest martial arts organization, where he shared that his main intention is to get a finish over Aoki:

"The goal of course is to finish him. MMA is a very unpredictable sport so as for my part I just have to follow through with my preparations and be on my toes always."

The Filipino and Japanese icons will meet for the fourth time on March 23 as part of the ONE 172, which will take place inside the Saitama Super Arena in Japan.

'Tobikan Judan' won their two previous fights in 2019 and 2021 to go up 2-1 in their head-to-head score. Now, 'The Landslide' aims to tie the score and get one back.

---

Eduard Folayang says he will set aside his friendship with Shinya Aoki at ONE 172

Folayang and Aoki have created a good relationship but according to the former, he is willing to set this aside for their upcoming bout because they both have something to prove.

Furthermore, the Lions Nation MMA representative explained that being competitive in combat sports is something that they can't take away, as he told ONE Championship in a recent interview:

"Of course, it's a bit harder because we're competing now as friends but being professionals, we have to put that relationship aside. We both have something to prove. It's still competition, and you can't take away that aspect in our chosen profession."

Fans can purchase the ONE 172: Takeru vs. Rodtang PPV card via watch.onefc.com. The card goes down inside the Saitama Super Arena in Japan on March 23.