On November 11, 2016, Edward Flayan defeated Shinya Aoki in the ONE: Defending Honor Main Event, shocking the world of mixed martial arts and winning the title of lightweight promotion.
The seriousness of the incident cannot be underestimated, because this is Folayang’s first chance to win in nine years of his career so far.
Coupled with the fact that the boxer from Baguio City, Philippines has not been able to beat his opponent since January 2012, this will only make his achievements even sweeter.
Since 2012, Aoki has never been defeated. Before facing the best of Lakay, he completed seven of the nine battles.
For most of the two rounds, the legendary Japanese grappler seemed to have the number of the Filipino idol after controlling him on the ground in the first round, and spent most of the second round regaining his strength, and then he played Fula. Yang brought it back to the ground.
However, Folayang flagged Aoki as he approached his knockdown attempt, which was a sign of what was about to happen.
In the third round, the tide quickly turned to Flayan.
Aoki started accidentally, and Folayang shot Aoki’s chin with a huge flying knee. Before the referee intervened and suspended the game, the Japanese was nailed to the cage to allow the Filipino to shoot the right hand repeatedly.
“We just have a good game plan. I was surprised by his strength in the first round. But when I saw his lips start to be broken, I knew I only needed to play in the next few rounds. Keep my stamina. I know I can win.” Folayang told Nissi Icasiano of Rappler.
Although Aoki will win the next two matches by submitting, the first match has established Folayang’s legacy and is arguably one of the greatest Filipino mixed martial artists.
For the Philippines MMA and Lakay team, this is a watershed, proving that they can cultivate world-class talents.
More ONE champions will stand out from the famous Baguio City training camp, led by coach Mark Sancho, such as defending grassweight king Joshua Pacio and former champion Honorio Barna Leo, Kevin Belingon and Geyer Eustacquiao.
They are also good at cultivating outstanding female talents like Jenelyn Olsim, Gina Iniong and April Osenio.
It has been five years since Flayang won, but the memory of that moment still exists, as if it just happened yesterday.
