It’s been five years since Eduard Folayang and Amir Khan squared off for the ONE lightweight world championship.
Folayang went on to win the bout with an impressive unanimous decision.
Since their last bout, Folayang has lost seven of his last eight bouts while Khan also had his taste of five defeats in his last eight bouts.
Both fighters are now eager to run it back again and hopes to get back on the winning track.
Former lightweight MMA king Folayang has enjoyed two stints with the belt around his waist, but he’s struggled in recent times, going winless since his November 2019 victory over Amarsanaa Tsogookhuu.
Boasting victories over former World Champions such as Shinya Aoki and Kotetsu Boku, the 39-year-old Filipino has spent 12 years facing the best opponents possible inside the Circle, and he wants to prove that he still has what it takes to compete at the top.
Folayang recently founded Lions Nation MMA in hopes of rejuvenating his career. Working alongside his old stablemates like Kevin Belingon and Joshua Pacio, this is Folayang’s chance to show that his move has paid off.
Meanwhile, Khan will step back into the Circle following a stoppage defeat to Keanu Subba last year, but at the age of 28, the Singaporean knockout artist still has plenty of time to turn his form around.
He broke onto the scene by registering 10 stoppages in his first 11 wins, booking himself a world title challenge of Folayang in November 2018.
Khan would lose a hard-fought unanimous decision against his legendary rival, but that was also the start of a stretch in which he’s struggled to find consistency among brief glimpses of his striking excellence.
Working with the elite squad at Evolve MMA, the lightweight sensation is well-positioned to make another run toward the division’s upper echelon, but he’ll need to start with a victory in front of his home crowd.
With 23 and 22 appearances in ONE, respectively, Folayang and Khan are the two most experienced athletes in the world’s largest martial arts organization.
Their long and entertaining careers on the global stage have earned them legions of fans, but only one of them can take a much-needed step forward in this clash of true veterans on September 29. NLMonitor