It was only fitting that ONE Championship’s debut in Japan would feature one of the country’s favorite sons in a starring role.
At age 35, MMA legend Shinya Aoki (43-8, 1 NC) added to his impressive list of accolades, recapturing the ONE lightweight (170-pound) championship by defeating Eduard Folayang (21-7) in the main event of ONE’s “A New Era” event Sunday at Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo.
This was the second meeting between the two and while their November 2016 encounter saw Folayang end Aoki’s first ONE lightweight reign via third-round TKO, this ending was more in line with Aoki’s recent performances.