Sydney based One Championship fighter Martin Nguyen will return to the cage for the first time since claiming the promotion’s featherweight title and will take on One Championship lightweight champion Eduard Folayang.
The two title holders will headline the One: Legends of the World event, taking place at the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila, Philippines on November 10.
Nguyen, 28, secured the biggest win of his career last August where he upset the previously undefeated Marat Gafurov, stopping him with punches in the first-round to claim the One Championship featherweight title. The win was his fifth in a row after stopping Kazunori Yokota, Christian Lee, Kai Wen Li and Edward Kelly previously. His lone loss came at the hands of Marat Gafurov back in 2015.
“New Years’ will be coming early this year, because in this fight there will definitely be fireworks,” Nguyen was quoted as saying in the press-release.
“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. I have the utmost respect for the lightweight champion, and will definitely not take his skills for granted. But this is going 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. The real winner of this bout will be the fans at the Mall of Asia Arena.”
A member of Team Lakay Wushu, Folayang will have the home town support and comes into the contest having last fought back in April where he successfully defended his lightweight title for the first time against Ev Ting. Prior to that the 32-year-old caused one of the upsets of 2016, when he stopped decorated Japanese fighter Shinya Aoki.
“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,” Folayang commented.
The super-fight is the first and only bout announced for the card so far.
