WITH reigning two-time world champion Martin Nguyen vacating the One Championship lightweight crown, Eduard Folayang and Amir Khan are set to square off for the title on November 23 at the Mall of Asia arena.
The announcement was made by One chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong after Nguyen announced he is relinquishing the title because of a serious knee injury.
With the vacancy, Folayang, the former lightweight world champion, seeks to reclaim the title against a streaking Amir Khan as the main event of One: Conquest of Champions.
Ever since losing the One Lightweight World Championship to Nguyen at One: Legends of the World in November 2017, Folayang has stormed back into title contention.
The 34-year-old Baguio City luminary ripped through a pair of undefeated Russian warriors to earn his spot in the championship tilt.
Folayang defeated Kharun Atlangeriev via unanimous decision at One: Unstoppable Dreams in May, and then he dispatched Sambo World Champion Aziz Pahrudinov at One: Reign of Kings two months later.
Now, the Team Lakay veteran has an opportunity to regain the belt in front of his countrymen, cement his place as the best-ever lightweight mixed martial artist the Philippines has ever seen, as well as avenge his favorite training partner Honorio Banario’s most recent loss.
Over the past three years, meanwhile, Khan has been on fire.
The 23-year-old Singaporean Muay Thai Champion has utilized his versatile skill set to great effect.
He has won eight of his last nine match-ups in the world’s largest martial arts organization, including his most recent bout at One: Beyond the Horizon earlier this month, where he submitted Folayang’s Team Lakay stablemate Honorio Banario via rear-naked choke.
Khan currently holds three promotional records — the most wins with 11, the most finishes with 10, and the most knockouts with eight. Should the Evolve product defeat Folayang for the world title, he would already extend at least one of those records.
However, the stakes go much deeper than that. He now has the chance to become the youngest lightweight World Champion in the organization’s history, Singapore’s first-ever homegrown mixed martial arts World Champion, and become the greatest Singaporean martial artist the world has ever seen.
The new world champion would also already have a challenger in waiting -- the winner of the massive match-up between Ev Ting and Shinya Aoki in Bangkok on 6 October at One: Kingdom of Heroes. (Roderick Osis)