Eduard Folayang says Philippine MMA is back after Joshua Pacio, Denice Zamboanga world title wins: "It continues to thrive"

Filipino legend Eduard Folayang is glad that MMA in the Philippines has regained its mark in the combat sports world after Denice Zamboanga and Joshua Pacio reigned as world champions from their recent bouts.

Speaking to ONE Championship recently, Folayang proclaimed that these triumphs by Zamboanga and Pacio are solid evidence of the excellence of the sport in the country, as he explained:

"That's what we want to see now. And I'm happy that we're on the cusp of doing it again. The fact that we still have two World Champions means that Philippine MMA didn't stagnate. It continues to evolve, and it continues to thrive."

'The Landslide' enjoyed the same success in November 2016 when he defeated Shinya Aoki to become the undisputed ONE lightweight MMA world champion.

Almost nine years later, Folayang and Aoki will face each other for the fourth time on March 23 at ONE 172 inside Saitama Super Arena in Japan.

Eduard Folayang says that he and Shinya Aoki have verbally agreed to fight each other again

In 2023, Aoki went to the Philippines to visit Folayang in Baguio, and during this stretch, the Lions Nation MMA-affiliated athlete revealed that they both agreed to fight again to honor their legendary careers.

That agreement has now come to fruition, and they are now ready to go at it again in front of the packed halls of Saitama. Folayang revealed this during a recent interview:

"It's actually Shinya who asked for this and I agreed. He went to Baguio back in 2023 and he asked for another match. He's someone who's a huge part of my career and now it's all about honoring our word to each other and fighting again one more time before we call it a career."

Fans can purchase the ONE 172: Takeru vs. Rodtang PPV card via watch.onefc.com. The event will take place inside Saitama Super Arena in Japan on March 23.