IGOROT mixed martial arts champion Eduard Folayang is set to defend his ONE lightweight world title against Shinya Aoki in a rematch next year.
Two more title bouts will co-headline ONE Championship’s first showing in Japan slated March 31 at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo as Xiong Jing Nan defends her ONE women’s strawweight world title against Angela Lee while ONE middleweight world champion Aung La N Sang sees action against Ken Hasegawa.
Also seeing action on the card are new ONE Championship athletes Demetrious Johnson and Eddie Alvarez. In addition, ONE Championship will officially kick off the ONE Flyweight World Grand Prix with a series of compelling bouts.
Folayang gets another crack at Japanese martial arts legend and former world champion Shinya Aoki in a long-awaited rematch after the Igorot warrior in November 2016 captured the title from Aoki via third-round TKO, but surrendered the belt to Martin Nguyen a year later.
In November, the Filipino reclaimed the crown with a dominant five-round unanimous decision over Singaporean knockout artist Amir Khan.
Meanwhile, Aoki is riding a three-bout win streak, having finished Rasul Yakhyaev and Ev Ting by submission, and stopping Shannon Wiratchai by TKO. These three wins have elevated the Japanese icon to another shot at the ONE lightweight world title, as well as a chance to defeat his former conqueror.
In addition to the three bouts, multiple-time world champions Johnson and Alvarez are scheduled to make their first appearances inside the ONE Championship cage.
Alvarez joined ONE Championship in October, taking his stellar career back to Asia where he first made a name for himself. A multiple-time lightweight world champion, Alvarez seeks to become a ONE world champion but will have to go through a bevy of top lightweight contenders in order to achieve his goal. In his first outing for the promotion, Alvarez will face top lightweight contender Timofey Nastyukhin of Russia.
Johnson, meanwhile, is widely considered the pound-for-pound best mixed martial artist in the history of the sport. He joined ONE Championship in October and, alongside Alvarez, appeared in Singapore the following week for the Global Martial Arts Summit, Global Martial Arts Awards, and ONE: Heart of the Lion. Johnson’s opponent for his first bout will be Japan’s Yuya Wakamatsu.
The ONE Flyweight World Grand Prix will commence at ONE: A New Era. Initial bouts for the tournament will also be announced at a later date.
Also on the card is a ONE Super Series showdown between Muay Thai legend Yodsanklai IWE Fairtex and Dutch World Champion kickboxer Andy Souwer.
Yodsanklai is coming off a stunning performance in Kuala Lumpur at ONE: Destiny of Champions. The martial arts veteran finished opponent Luis Regis with three rapid-fire uppercuts that drew a chorus of cheers from the crowd. Souwer, on the other hand, is one of the most internationally-renowned striking superstars ever to emerge from the Netherlands and is a two-time K1 World MAX World Champion and It’s Showtime 70MAX World Champion.