Destiny’s children
do you believe in destiny? i do.
i always look for signs of it in the encounters of teams or athletes seemingly tied together by fate.
in 2008, archrivals the Boston celtics and the Los angeles Lakers found themselves at both ends of the rope in that year’s national Basketball association Finals. Both arrived at their respective destinations—the eastern and western conference championships—through very interesting zigs and zags. How they got there was classic “let the chips fall where they may”—like following a script written by a divine playwright.
i again see and smell destiny working the ropes on her willing marionettes. This time it’s in the realm of mixed martial arts where Filipino folk hero, eduard Folayang of the fabled Team Lakay is set to meet his twin in fate, shinya aoki.
They weren’t meant to meet. it was 25-year-old american “super” sage northcutt who was scheduled to tussle with shinya “Tobikan Judan” aoki at one on TNT iv on april 29. The match-up would have had huge consequences, as the winner would climb up one’s athlete rankings and get a shot at challenging reigning one Lightweight world champion christian “The warrior” Lee.
northcutt, a 77-time Karate world champion, with an 11-3 record (eight of those victories were via knockout or submission), had been pumped up about aoki after waiting two years in the wings. His debut in may 2019 on one: enter The dragon had been disastrous after he was knocked out early by cosmo “good Boy” alexandre. He suffered serious facial injuries that needed long and extensive rehabilitation. But now in 2021 northcutt was ready.
aoki, 46-9 (1 nc) is still surging at 37. when he fought former one welterweight world Title challenger James nakashima in one: unbreakable last January, aoki outgrappled nakashima and punished him with a neck crank in the first round, forcing him to tap. That win was aoki’s 29th career submission, and his eighth in one championship. He is also currently on a three-bout winning streak.
But alas, the northcutt-aoki encounter is not meant to be. northcutt, who got infected with covid-19, still suffers from the lingering effects of the virus and has withdrawn from the fight.
in the same one mma event, eduard “Landslide” Folayang, 36, who is out to prove he is back indeed after losing successively to Peter Buist, then antonio caruso during his last appearances, was scheduled to face 45-year-old Yoshihiro “sexyama” akiyama, a two-time asian games judo gold medalist and a K-1 Hero Light Heavyweight grand Prix world champion. unlike the surging aoki, Folayang had had frustrating runs since 2019, winning only one out of five fights. The akiyama fight was to have been his resurrection.
But akiyama too has pulled out of the contest due to a bicep tear. so the doors have opened for what destiny had decreed all along: the third part of the Folayang-aoki trilogy, what would settle their longstanding rivalry on the global stage.
if we were to keep score, it was Folayang who started the grudge match going. it was he who snatched away the revered Japanese mma hero’s belt after a spectacular third round TKO that ended aoki’s long reign at the top in september 2017.
The Team Lakay star enjoyed a relatively long and prosperous reign after that. aoki meanwhile, worked his way up again to the top, dismissing opponents like rasul Yakhyaev and shannon wiratchai easily in the process.
Folayang’s last win—against amir Khan in one: conquest of champions in July 2019—was most impressive. according to one, “in front of a partisan home crowd in manila, “Landslide” put on the most complete display of his career to overwhelm the singaporean, take a wide unanimous decision, and begin his second reign as lightweight king.”
That reign would be stopped by aoki, however, in march 2019—Part 2 of the trilogy. in one: a new era held in Tokyo, aoki gave the Filipino hero an arm-triangle choke in the first round that forced him to submit. Home court advantage does seem to work, after all.
now comes Folayang-aoki iii, with the battleground is singapore, neutral territory.
“This will be a monumental test for me. it’s a sudden change of our preparation, but i’m a professional athlete, so i have to be prepared for anything, at any given time. i have to be ready to calibrate for what will be served for that perfect aim. i want to show the best highlight of my career as a mixed martial artist. i want to give my all so there are no regrets,” Folayang said.
aoki is just as pumped as Folayang, if not more so.
“This is the last event of the ‘one on TNT’ series, so it’s meant to be, and it’s going to be a great one for fans. a lot of people have been waiting for this trilogy with Folayang,” said aoki.
“Looking back at the past two fights against him, i am very motivated to perform well. i think this fight has a lot of meaning. it’s fate that we meet again. as always, i will fight anyone, because i am a proud wrestler and fighter.”
Folayang and aoki will compete in a rubber match at “one on TNT iv,” the final installment in the four-part “one on TNT” event series which broadcasts live from the singapore indoor stadium in singapore on wednesday, april 28 (april 29 in manila).
who will win Folayang-aoki iii? Let destiny decide.