MANILA, Philippines – In November, the same month of his championship clash with longtime lightweight kingpin Shinya Aoki, Filipino fighter Eduard Folayang will be celebrating his 33rd birthday.
Although his title tilt against Aoki is 11 days before his birthday, November 22, Folayang can't think of a better present for himself than to return home with the ONE Championship lightweight belt around his waist.
"It will be a great birthday present for me to get the belt. It's an added motivation going into the bout against Shinya Aoki on November 11," he told Rappler.
Folayang's journey to his first title shot in ONE Championship since joining the promotion 5 years ago can be best described as a roller coaster ride with its ups and downs.
Despite the many wild turns in his 9-year prizefighting career, Folayang finally received a much sought-after crack at the ONE Championship lightweight belt after outclassing Japanese veteran Tetsuya Yamada in 3 rounds last January and then surviving a grueling encounter with Australia's Adrian Pang in August.
As a gold-plated strap is the only missing hardware in his trophy room, Folayang said he is more driven to pull off an upset victory over Aoki.
Aoki has been widely regarded as the most dominant lightweight in Asia for the better part of the last decade. (READ: How Eduard Folayang can beat ONE FC champ Shinya Aoki)
"My motivation for this fight is at its peak because I waited for 5 years to fight for a ONE Championship world title. It's still surreal to me," Folayang said.
Even if Folayang is pegged as the underdog in the scheduled 5-round lightweight contest, he believes the winning momentum is on his side as he already started a triumphant run in his busy 2016 calendar.
In contrast, Aoki has been out of action since December 2015 when he pulverized Kazushi Sakuraba under the Rizin Fighting Federation banner.
"As of now, I can honestly say that the momentum is on my side. I started the year with a win. I followed it up with another big win. The timing speaks for itself," Folayang said.
The Filipino fighter vowed to shock the world by walking out of the Singapore Indoor Stadium with his hand raised. For him, waiting for another 5 years for the chance to become a mixed martial arts world champion is not an option.
"I believe there is a time and season for everything. This time it's going to be mine." – Rappler.com
