Manila superfight headlines filled ONE November lineup
NOVEMBER promises to be a solid month for ONE Championship as it stages a packed lineup of events that has blockbuster written all over it, including a fight night in Manila featuring a cross-divisional title encounter.
Happening on Nov. 10 at the Mall of Asia Arena, ONE Lightweight World Champion Eduard “Landslide” Folayang of the Philippines will defend his title against ONE Featherweight World Champion Martin “The Situ-Asian” Nguyen of Australia in an explosive superfight dubbed “ONE: Legends of the World.”
It is sandwiched between the title fight between ONE Middleweight World Champion Aung La N Sang of Myanmar and challenger Alain Ngalani of Cameroon in “ONE: Hero’s Dream” on Nov. 3 in Yangon, and “ONE: Immortal Pursuits” on Nov. 25 in Singapore that will feature the “farewell” fight of undefeated ONE Welterweight World Champion Ben Askren of the United States against Japanese legend and former ONE lightweight champ Shinya Aoki as well as the rematch between ONE Women’s Atomweight World Champion Angela Lee and Mei Yamaguchi of Japan.
Legends of the World will mark the second time that Team Lakay stalwart Folayang will defend his title, which he won over Mr. Aoki in November last year.
In his first defense here in Manila in April, Mr. Folayang (18-5) successfully kept his belt with a unanimous decision victory over Malaysian Ev Ting.
With the grand opportunity to hold two titles, Mr. Folayang said he is looking forward to the chal- lenge and battling Mr. Nguyen in front of the hometown fans.
“As a martial artist, I am constantly in search of the biggest challenges, the biggest tests of my skills. As champion, I welcome any and all challengers. Martin [ Nguyen] is one of the best in the world and it is an honor to share the ONE Championship cage with him. This is a bout for the fans, and I can’t wait to perform in front of my hometown crowd in Manila once again. I have complete respect for my opponent’s skills and I’m preparing to showcase the best version of Eduard Folayang on Nov. 10,” said the 33- year- old Baguio native Folayang.
Mr. Nguyen, who is coming off a conquest of former champion Marat Gafurov last month, is equally excited for the chance presented to him to showcase his true worth as a fighter.
“New Year’s will be coming early this year, because in this fight there will definitely be fireworks. I’m out not only to make a statement, but to go down in history as the best to ever compete under the ONE Championship banner,” he said.
“This is going is to be a dog fight. It’s the first time two champions in different divisions go head-to-head in ONE, and I am excited to give the performance of a lifetime,” Mr. Nguyen added.
For ONE Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong, the Manila fight, the 11th event to be staged in the Philippines, is but fitting since the Filipinos have been great fans to Asia’s largest sporting property since its start early in the decade.
“ONE Championship continues to push the boundaries of sports and entertainment with each event, and our next show in Manila is going to be absolutely phenomenal. Two world champions in their respective weight classes are set to go head- tohead in a cross-divisional showdown that will be talked about the world over,” the ONE top official said.