Two former world champions will clash at ONE: CENTURY PART II when former ONE Featherweight World Champion Honorio “The Rock” Banario faces former ONE Lightweight World Champion Shinya “Tobikan Judan” Aoki at the Ryōgoku Kokugikan in Tokyo, Japan.
Eduard “Landslide” Folayang, who has fought Aoki twice, knows the challenge that awaits “The Rock” on October 13.
Folayang first took on Aoki at ONE: DEFENDING HONOR where the Filipino was able to score a technical knockout win in the third round and was crowned as the ONE Lightweight World Champion. The two met again at ONE: A NEW ERA where Aoki clinched a stunning arm-triangle choke victory in the first round to regain his title.
Given his experience and being the only other lightweight in Team Lakay, Folayang willingly wants to help Banario in his training.
The athletes of the Baguio City-based gym know Aoki holds most of his victories by submission, but that does not mean he is invulnerable. The majority of Aoki’s losses also came from knockouts. Fortunately, “The Rock” packs a wallop in his punches.
“Honorio knows how dangerous Shinya is on the ground,” Folayang said.
“We worked together on his takedown defense, escaping from holds, the movement inside the cage, and reminding him not to commit any mistakes as much as possible. We know that he has been knocked out several times before and I think that is his weakness. Honorio’s striking is superior compared to Shinya, so we told him to keep his distance and time his strikes. As his partner in the lightweight division, I am doing what I can to help him out, but he is doing very well in training.”
Banario’s 2019 has been full of ups and downs. He was eliminated in the ONE Lightweight World Grand Prix Quarterfinals by Lowen Tynanes at ONE: HERO’S ASCENT. He got married on April 6 after dating his girlfriend Jessica for almost eight years. “The Rock” then joined Folayang, Edward Kelly, Geje Eustaquio, and Danny Kingad at ONE: DAWN OF HEROES, but fell short to Dae Sung Park. On the very same day, his wife gave birth to their son Zeus Thorenstone.
Folayang said that all the things that happened to Banario this year boosted his physical and mental state. Right now, “Landslide” believes that Banario is in the best condition and won’t disappoint in Japan.
“His motivation and mindset are at the highest right now,” Folayang said.
“He recently got married, became a father, and coming in from a loss. Those factors have a huge contribution to keeping himself focused during training. At ONE: Century will be one of his biggest matches, and we are confident that he will do well.”