By Rafael Bandayrel
Eduard Folayang tries to prove that his victory over Japanese Shinya Aoki was no fluke when they clash for the ONE Championship lightweight title on March 31 in Japan.
This time around, Folayang will have his hands full as Aoki will have the hometown advantage in the main event of ONE: A New Era in the promotion’s debut in Japan.
During their first encounter in 2016, Folayang stunned Aoki with a third-round technical knockout (TKO) victory in their title duel.
However, Folayang dropped the title to Martin Nguyen after getting knocked out in the second round of their title bout in November 2017.
After that devastating loss, the Team Lakay leader immediately bounced back by scoring back-to-back unanimous decisions over previously unbeaten Russian fighters Kharun Atlangeriev and Aziz Pahrudinov.