Eduard Folayang draws inspiration from Lions Nation MMA teammates

Former ONE lightweight world champion Eduard Folayang is drawing inspiration from his Lions Nation MMA teammates ahead of his fourth encounter with Shinya Aoki at ONE 172 on March 23 at Saitama Super Arena in Japan.

Folayang, 41, aims to even the score with the Japanese, against whom he has a 1-2 record.

Having recently seen Joshua Pacio win the undisputed ONE strawweight world title and Kevin Belingon go the distance with Bibiano Fernandes, Folayang hopes to perform in an equally impressive manner.

"Things have been looking up for us. Joshua just recently unified the world titles, Kevin [Belingon] also made a good account of himself in his return," Folayang said.

Touted as the face of Philippine mixed martial arts, Folayang, who has a professional mixed martial arts record of 23-13, is coming off a third-round stoppage over Amir Khan in September 2023. Though it has been a while since he last saw action, he plans to showcase vintage "Landslide" on fight night.

"There’s gonna be a Landslide in Japan. I am going to bring it there, and fans should expect nothing less on March 23," Folayang stated.

—JKC, GMA Integrated News