Malaysia’s Ev wants another shot at champ ‘Landslide’

PETALING JAYA: Malaysian mixed martial arts (MMA) athlete Ev Ting is baying for a rematch against ONE Championship lightweight defending champion Eduard “Landslide” Folayang in Kuala Lumpur.

The New Zealand-based Ev chalked up his eighth home success after an emphatic first-round TKO win over Japan’s Nobutatsu Suzuki at the ONE Championship: Quest for Greatness in Kuala Lumpur on Friday.

Ev was edged by Folayang in a unanimous decision at the ONE Championship: King of Destiny in Manila on April 21. But the 28-yearold Ev believes that Friday’s win was a clear message that he is ready for his Filipino rival.

“I had three fights this year and one was a title fight and I want to thank ONE (the fight promoters) for it. I’m ready for a rematch with Folayang. Let’s have it in Kuala Lumpur,” said Ev at the post-fight press conference.

“I’m going back to Sarawak to spend some time with my family and visit my sick grandmother. I’ll return to Auckland after that to train during the winter.”

Home favourite Agilan “The Alligator” Thani, who got himself back on the winning trail with a unanimous decision victory over Sherif “The Shark” Mohamed of Egypt in the welterweight bout, said he will bide his time before challenging for the title again.

The 22-year-old lost in the title fight against reigning ONE welterweight world champion Ben Askren in Singapore on May 26.

“I need more fights before challenging for the title again. I had a good fight against Sherif, I’ll head back to the gym and prepare for the next fight,” said Agilan who improved his record to 9-1.