Shinya Aoki Doubles Down On Offer For 'Retirement Fight' Against Eduard Folayang

Shinya Aoki proved to be a man of his word as he delivered on his promise to fly to the Philippines and break bread with old rival Eduard Folayang.

The 39-year-old mixed martial arts (MMA) legend traveled 2,987 kilometers from Tokyo, Japan to Metro Manila on a plane and then took a nearly five-hour drive from the capital to Folayang's hometown of Baguio City, Benguet—a town nestled at an elevation of 5,050 feet above sea level within the Cordillera Central mountain range of Northern Luzon.

"I wanted to talk to Eduard, spend time with him, and share how I feel about my career right now. We are the same age and have fought three times. We are also, sort of, in the final stage of our careers as MMA fighters. I wanted to hear his thoughts," Aoki told the International Business Times about his decision to pay Folayang a visit.

"I thought we could motivate each other. That's why I visited here."

As of late, things have not gone well for either mixed martial artist—with Aoki reeling from back-to-back losses and Folayang dealing with a five-bout losing skid.

Once he arrived in Baguio City, Aoki got more than what he bargained for.

He spent two of his four-day visit with Folayang and the rest of Team Lakay, giving members of the world-renowned MMA stable a rare opportunity to pick the mind of "Tobikan Judan"—translated as "The Grand Master of Flying Submissions" in English.

The Shizuoka, Japan native conducted a two-hour grappling seminar that was attended by Folayang himself and other notable names on the Team Lakay roster such as Joshua Pacio, Kevin Belingon, Geje Eustaquio, Honorio Banario, Danny Kingad, Jeremy Pacatiw, and UFC veteran Dave Galera.

From going into detail on applying his go-to submissions like the rear-naked choke, arm-triangle, and anaconda to teaching the trick behind his patented takedown from the clinch, Aoki had everyone's full attention in the room.

Team Lakay repaid what Aoki taught them the next day by giving the Japanese a feel of the group's signature outdoor training at Camp John Hay, which began with a trail run through the steep woods of the former military base and was followed up with a striking pad session workout.

Aoki took time for leisure, visiting the province's heritage sites such as the Lion's Head along Kenon Road and Mount Kalugong in La Trinidad.

Moreover, Folayang had Aoki try some of the authentic local delicacies, including Pinikpikan (chicken stew), Kinuday (smoked meat), Dinakdakan (sauteed pork face), and Pinuneg (blood sausage).

While the recent interaction between both men in Baguio City marked the first time that they got to know each other much better on a personal level, it seems that Aoki is willing to set aside his newfound friendship with Folayang for a fourth fight.

Stepping inside the cage with Folayang once more was an idea that Aoki brought up through his personal blog following the Filipino's controversial stoppage loss at the hands of Edson Marques at ONE Fight Night 5 this past December.

It was in the same blog entry where Aoki first mentioned his plans to head up to the highlands and get in touch with his arch-nemesis.

Despite how much he had enjoyed his brief stay in the Philippines due to the warm hospitality like no other, the Japanese still hasn't forgotten the offer he made over a month ago.

"I want to fight him again—either my last fight or his last fight," Aoki said. "Maybe we can do it here in the Philippines since we already fought twice in Singapore and once in Japan."

The two had their first encounter back in November 2016 when Folayang shocked the world by defeating Aoki by way of third-round technical knockout to capture the coveted ONE lightweight title.

Aoki exacted revenge in March 2019 on his home turf, putting Folayang to sleep with a constricting arm-triangle choke in the first round to regain the intricately-crafted belt.

They broke their deadlock in an April 2021 non-title joust, with Aoki pulling away with a submission victory courtesy of an armbar in the first round.

Given how decisive Aoki defeated Folayang in their final two duels, most would agree that a fourth installment in their rivalry is no longer warranted.

But the two-time ONE lightweight champion puts more premium on Folayang's significance in his career, a Hall of Fame-worthy run that started two decades ago,

In fact, Aoki ranks Folayang above everyone on his long list of high-profile opposition he faced through the years, which is composed of the likes of Eddie Alvarez, Gilbert Melendez, Kazushi Sakuraba, Joachim Hansen, Caol Uno, and Tatsuya Kawajiri.

"For me, Eduard is special because he's the only guy I fought three times. That's the main reason I came over to Baguio from Tokyo. I spent five years fighting him. He's so special. Definitely, he's No. 1 on my list," Aoki shared.

"I don't think about how it would benefit my career. Simply, I want Eduard for my last fight. That's all," he later added.

On the part of Folayang, he wouldn't pass up a chance to even the series with Aoki. However, the Filipino MMA superstar clarified that he is far from considering retirement.

"I believe I still have a couple of years left in me. But I have to admit it is a proposition that merits good consideration. Of course, it will be a privilege to face him again. When I am prepared to hang it up, he will surely be one of the first few individuals to know," Folayang stated.

Both Folayang and Aoki forge separate paths for now, and only time will tell if the next time they will see eye-to-eye is inside the Circle.

Nissi Icasiano is a sportswriter, analyst and editor from the Philippines. He started his professional career in 2013. He has also written for various media outlets such as Rappler.com, ABS-CBN, Tiebreaker Times, Philboxing.com, MSN.com, South China Morning Post, The Phnom Penh Post and the International Business Times. In 2017, he started a career as a Combat Sports Analyst for television and radio, appearing on various news shows for ABS-CBN, GMA, TV5, Radyo Singko 92.3 News FM, PTV 4, Business World, Radyo Pilipinas 2 and Bombo Radyo Philippines. He practices boxing at Tiger City Boxing Gym whenever he is not writing.