Manila’s Mall of Asia Arena will again welcome the ONE Championship brand and all of it’s fans for Conquest of Champions. The ONE faithful will gather to see if champions are in fact conquered when Brandon Vera returns from a lengthy layoff to defend his heavyweight title against Mauro Cerilli. The other title bout on the card features explosive striker Amir Khan and former divisional kingpin Eduard Folayang for the vacant ONE Lightweight championship. MMATorch’s Dylan Bowker was able to touch base with both Khan and Folayang for some Q&A ahead of this bout for the lightweight crown.
Amir Khan
Dylan: Upcoming ONE Lightweight Grand Prix, Eddie Alvarez recently came over, is ONE’s lightweight division the strongest it has ever been?
Amir: This division was already the most stacked and strongest division in ONE Championship and by adding Eddie Alvarez, it sets the bar higher for everyone in the division
Dylan: Can you speak to how beneficial it is to train with a team like Evolve MMA ahead of this big title fight?
Amir: Evolve is at its best right now especially right now we have a strong head coach to lead us right. Evolve mma has provide me with opportunity bringing in high level partners to train with me for this fight and everyone is working for me for this fight so that I will bring the belt back to Evolve.
Dylan: A lot of people speak to the martial arts centric, respect focused style of ONE as opposed to drama driven promotional techniques of North American MMA organizations. How refreshing is it to be in an environment like that where you don’t have to worry about being over the top and putting on a character to drum up interest for fights?
Amir: It’s definitely better as everyone can truly be themselves and we don’t have to spend time and energy selling fights. ONE Championship does that for us. I think its better overall for the athletes so we can solely focus on our performance in the cage.
Dylan: Your opponent is a former ONE Championship titlist, is deadly, and has more experience. What’s your overall assessment of your opponent’s skillset?
Amir: He brings a ton of experience to the cage. He has a world class striking game and is a well rounded fighter but his gameplan stays the same in every fight. Hit and move, hit and move, avoid the takedowns.
Dylan: Team Lakay and Evolve MMA are some of the world’s biggest MMA gyms with representatives from both in this bout. Do you view this through some lens of team versus team?
Amir: Yes you can say so, I would not let team Lakay add another world title belt to their collection…no more. I’ll get this belt and next Alex Silva will get the belt from Joshua Pacio and so on. And in 2019-2020, Evolve MMA will be number one.
Dylan: The bulk of your career has been with ONE Championship. What are your thoughts on being part of ONE Championship’s growth as you grow as a martial artist?
Amir: I’m very proud to have started and grow with ONE Championship. ONE Championship gives me opportunities and reminds me what martial arts is supposed to be.
Eduard Folayang
Dylan: Upcoming ONE Lightweight Grand Prix, Eddie Alvarez recently came over, is ONE’s Lightweight division the strongest it has ever been?
Eduard: Yeah its always been a strong division and adding more talents like Eddie will make it more exciting.
Dylan: This bout is for the vacant ONE Lightweight title and a couple fights ago you lost that same title to Martin Nguyen. Is there an added redemption element here in addition to the joy of winning the belt once more?
Eduard: Yeah ever since I lost that, I’m always eyeing to be back stronger and to have that chance again for me to redeem what was lost.
Dylan: Team Lakay and Evolve MMA are some of the world’s biggest MMA gyms with representatives from both in this bout. Do you view this through some lens of team versus team?
Eduard: That is part of it but I see it as who is the better prepared, as we are just representatives of our own teams.
Dylan: A lot of people speak to the martial arts centric, respect focused style of ONE as opposed to drama driven promotional techniques of North American MMA organizations. How refreshing is it to be in an environment like that where you don’t have to worry about being over the top and putting on a character to drum up interest for fights?
Eduard: It’s relaxing and you don’t need to act violently to sell the fight. It ls amazing that you can inspire people to get into martial arts.
Dylan: Khan has finished his last couple of fights, trains out of Evolve MMA, and has a record setting knockout. What’s your overall assessment of your opponent’s skillset?
Eduard: A good fighter, I saw his growth in his skill for sure this will be an explosive fight.
Dylan: In the last few years, ONE has evolved tremendously…..What are your thoughts on being part of ONE Championship’s growth as you grow as a martial artist?
Eduard: I am so happy to be part of this promotion ever since it started and still competing until now, I had experienced a lot and I really appreciate how we work together to promote the Asian values of martial arts around the world.
Dylan: What aspects of competing at Mall Of Asia Arena in Manila are you looking forward to?
Eduard: Representing my team, my nation and my faith in my creator.
ONE Championship will offer a lot of additional entertainment for their Conquest of Champions show. ONE Super Series continues with high octane Bantamweight Muay Thai/ Kickboxing action, blistering Flyweight and Strawweight bouts on the prelims, and more!
NEXT: MCGRATH’S THANKSGIVING THANK YOUS AND MMA TURKEY
Go to onefc.com for more information on “the largest global sports media property in Asian history.” Conquest of Champions prelims will be streamed on the official ONE Championship Facebook and Twitter accounts. All main card bouts for the Friday, November 23rd show can be watched in real time via the ONE app or in the video player below. The show begins at 5:30 AM ET on Friday Nov. 23.
Leave a Reply