One Championship : Defending Honor

By Gilbert Chao on September 1, 2016

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Singapore: The largest sports media property in Asian history, ONE Championship™ (ONE), has just announced its return to Singapore on 11 November for another exciting evening of world-class mixed martial arts action. The Singapore Indoor Stadium will play host to ONE: DEFENDING HONOR which will showcase the absolute best in local and international MMA talent. Headlining the card will be ONE Lightweight World Champion Shinya “Tobikan Judan” Aoki as he is set to defend his title against the Philippines’ Eduard “Landslide” Folayang.

Tickets for ONE: DEFENDING HONOR will go on sale next Monday, 5 September, 2016.

CEO of ONE Championship, Victor Cui stated: “Filipino fight fans have been waiting a long time for this one. Eduard Folayang has been with ONE Championship since the beginning and has performed at an extremely high level in his last couple of bouts. He is deserving of a title shot which he earned with victories over Tetsuya Yamada and Adrian Pang. The Singapore Indoor Stadium is going to erupt when fans finally get to see Folayang stand opposite Shinya Aoki inside the ONE Championship cage.”

Lightweight veteran Shinya “Tobikan Judan” Aoki of Shizuoka, Japan, is one of the world’s most decorated mixed martial artists. He is the DREAM Lightweight Champion, former Shooto Welterweight Champion, and the reigning ONE Lightweight World Champion. The 33-year-old Aoki is a Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt under Yuki Nakai and has won multiple grappling tournaments across the globe. He also holds a black belt in judo. A veteran of over 40 professional bouts which includes an impressive 25 victories by submission, Aoki’s reputation as a grappling specialist is unrivaled. Aoki is currently riding a nine-fight win streak, and is set to step back inside the ONE Championship cage to defend his lightweight title against Eduard Folayang.

ONE Lightweight World Champion, Shinya Aoki stated: “I have been in the sport for many years and have fought the toughest challengers across the world, but this is the first time I will be fighting a strong Filipino warrior. I am excited to test my skills against a fighter representing the Philippines. Eduard Folayang is a great competitor with solid all-around skills. It should be an exciting match-up.”

Eduard “Landslide” Folayang of the famed Team Lakay in Baguio City is one of the Philippines’ most experienced mixed martial artists. After over eight years as a professional competing in various promotions, the wushu specialist has amassed a stellar 16-5 mixed martial arts record. Folayang figured in impressive victories in his last two bouts, overcoming both Tetsuya Yamada and Adrian Pang to win by decision, showcasing a highly-improved wrestling and grappling offensive arsenal. Currently at the peak of his abilities as a combat sports athlete, Folayang will get the opportunity of a lifetime when he steps inside the cage across ONE Lightweight World Champion Shinya Aoki.

The challenger, Eduard Folayang stated: “I am at the peak of my abilities as a fighter. All the hard work I have put into training has finally started to pay off and I am challenging the great champion Aoki. It will be an honor to share the cage with him, but I feel I have the skills to pull off an upset. I will fight for the honor of my country and the people of the Philippines who will be in my corner on fight night.”

Additional bouts for ONE: DEFENDING HONOR will be announced at a later date.

For more updates on ONE Championship, please visit www.onefc.com, follow us on Twitter and Instagram @ONEChampionship, and like us on Facebook athttps://www.facebook.com/ONEChampionship.

About ONE Championship™

ONE Championship is the largest sports media property in Asian history. Headquartered in Singapore, the world’s most exciting mixed martial arts organization hosts the largest sports entertainment events across Asia featuring the best Asian mixed martial artists and world champions, all signed to exclusive contracts, on the largest media broadcast in Asia. ONE Championship is broadcast to over 1 billion viewers across 118+ countries around the world with some of the largest global broadcasters, including FOX Sports, Setanta, MNC, Astro, Thairath TV, ABS-CBN, TV5, MYTV, HTV, Esporte Interativo and more.