For Edward “The Landslide” Folayang, he will have to make more adjustments when he deals with Shinya Aoki, an opponent he has beaten already.
His fight against Aoki was worked out on short notice and Folayang’s showdown with him during one of the undercard in ONE on TNT IV was not supposed to happen.
Aoki was schedule to fight Japanese-Korean mixed martial art fighter Yushihiro Akiyama, who however, sustained a hip injury. The replacement, American bet Sage Northcutt had to back out after contracting COVID-19, with Folayang coming in as a last-minute substitute.
This time, Folayang knows he will be dealing with a ground-and-pound fighter when he clashes with Aoki.
“I need to be prepared. It’s going to be a tight fight and he’s more of a ground fighter,” added Folayang. “It’s a matter of who can get his game plan out.”
Folayang will be back in the cage after six months.
It will be his chance at redemption from his two straight setbacks.
Folayang suffered a split decision loss to Peter Buist via split decision in January last year.
After that, Folayang bowed to Antonio Caruso via unanimous decision last October.
While Aoki’s striking and wrestling have shown big changes over time, many fighters are fearful of his submission skills.
But Folayang is not intimidated by his style, after having been beaten Aoki already.
The Team Lakay stalwart defeated Aoki during the ONE: Defending Honor on November 11, 2016, before the Japanese got his revenge on his home soil during ONE: A New Era via a first-round submission on March 31, 2019.
