Folayang to star in ONE world title bout in March 2019

MANILA, Philippines – Philippine bet ONE Lightweight World Champion Eduard “Landslide” Folayang will defend his title against Shinya “Tobikan Judan” Aoki of Japan in a long-awaited rematch in the ONE: A New Era, set on Sunday, March 31, at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo, Japan. 

In November 2016, Folayang captured the lightweight title from Aoki via a 3rd-round Technical Knockout (TKO), but surrendered the belt to Martin Nguyen a year later.

The Filipino reclaimed the crown with a dominant 5-round unanimous decision over Singaporean knockout artist Amir Khan in November 2018.

Meanwhile, Aoki is riding a 3-bout win streak, having finished Rasul Yakhyaev and Ev Ting by submission, and stopping Shannon Wiratchai by TKO. These 3 wins have elevated the Japanese icon to another shot at the ONE Lightweight World Title, as well as a chance to defeat his former conqueror.

The Folayang-Aoki rematch will be part of the first 6 bouts in the ONE: A New Era in Tokyo, which will also feature two other world title events. 

Reigning ONE Women’s Strawweight World Champion “The Panda” Xiong Jing Nan of China goes head-to-head with ONE Women’s Atomweight World Champion “Unstoppable” Angela Lee of Singapore.

Both women have been on a collision course ever since the Chinese hero entered the organization in December 2017.

The two martial artists sit at the top of their weight classes, and they have dominated their respective divisions.

However, with Lee moving up in weight to challenge Xiong for the strawweight crown, the Singaporean has the chance to become the first two-division women’s World Champion in ONE Championship history.

It certainly will not be easy, as “The Panda” represents the toughest challenge in Lee’s career.

Myanmar’s Aung La “The Burmese Python” N Sang dangles his ONE Middleweight World title against Ken Hasegawa of Japan. 

Reigning ONE Middleweight and Light Heavyweight World Champion Aung La is the most iconic sports superstar to hail from Myanmar.

His first encounter with Japan’s Ken Hasegawa in June 2018 was a 5-round thriller of epic proportions, one which Aung La N Sang won in the final moments of the heated battle.

The match is considered the “Greatest Bout In ONE Championship History” and was also awarded “Bout Of The Year” honors at the 2018 Global Martial Arts Awards for its nonstop action and dramatic finish.

Aung La N Sang and Hasegawa will meet once again at ONE: A New Era in a highly-anticipated rematch that is sure to produce fireworks.

Also seeing action on the card are new ONE Championship athletes Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson and Eddie “The Underground King” Alvarez.

In addition to the 3 aforementioned bouts, multiple-time World Champions Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson and Eddie “The Underground King” Alvarez are scheduled to make their first appearances inside the ONE Championship cage.

Alvarez joined ONE Championship in October, taking his stellar career back to Asia where he first made a name for himself.

A multiple-time lightweight World Champion, Alvarez seeks to become a ONE World Champion but will have to go through a bevy of top lightweight contenders to achieve his goal.

In his first outing for the promotion, Alvarez will face top lightweight contender Timofey Nastyukhin of Russia.

Johnson, meanwhile, is widely considered the pound-for-pound best mixed martial artist in the history of the sport. He joined ONE Championship in late October and, alongside Alvarez, appeared in Singapore the following week for the Global Martial Arts Summit, Global Martial Arts Awards, and ONE: Heart of the Lion.

Johnson’s opponent for his first ONE Championship bout will be Japan’s Yuya “Little Piranha” Wakamatsu.

The ONE Flyweight World Grand Prix will officially kick off with a series of compelling bouts starting in the ONE: A New Era. Initial bouts for the tournament will also be announced at a later date.

Also on the card is a ONE Super Series showdown between Muay Thai legend Yodsanklai IWE Fairtex and Dutch World Champion kickboxer Andy Souwer.

Yodsanklai is coming off a stunning performance in Kuala Lumpur at ONE: Destiny of Champions. The martial arts veteran finished opponent Luis Regis with 3 rapid-fire uppercuts that drew a chorus of cheers from the crowd.

Souwer, on the other hand, is one of the most internationally-renowned striking superstars ever to emerge from the Netherlands and is a two-time K1 World MAX World Champion and It’s Showtime 70MAX World Champion. – Rappler.com