On Friday Night, 21 April, Malaysia’s Ev Ting will battle newly-minted ONE Lightweight World Champion Eduard “The Landslide” Folayang for the prestigious title at ONE: KINGS OF DESTINY, live from the Mall Of Asia Arena in the champ’s home turf of Manila, Philippines.

Not only does Ting plan to defeat Folayang for the belt, but he plans to do so in convincing fashion.

“[My plan] is to put him in a situation or a zone he is unfamiliar with. He is bound to make a mistake, and from there, I should be able to get a finish,” the 27-year-old challenger confidently states.

Currently riding a four-fight win streak, the well-rounded Malaysian holds a sharp 13-3 record, with four wins coming by TKO and another four by submission. “E.T.” earned his title shot by defeating “The Prince Of Persia” Kamal Shalorus at ONE: THRONE OF TIGERS back in February. 

Although Ting is known for maintaining a frantic pace during his bouts, he believes it will not give him an advantage over his Filipino rival.

“I use my cardio against a lot of other opponents, but I feel with Eduard (Folayang), it probably is not going to give me an edge because he is one of the fittest fighters around,” said Ting.

The champ has quite the reputation when it comes to his fitness, but his combat skills are pretty good, too. A former South East Asian Games gold medalist in wushu, “The Landslide” holds a respectable 17-5 MMA record, with six wins coming by way of TKO and two by submission.

Folayang, a veteran of Mark Sangiao’s prized Team Lakay camp, is on a three-fight win streak. He most recently defeated Shinya Aoki, a grappling wizard who is regarded as the best mixed martial artist in Asian history, for the coveted ONE Lightweight World Championship via third-round TKO at ONE: DEFENDING HONOR last November.

Throughout the contest, the 33-year-old Filipino bided his time, stuffed Aoki’s takedowns, and masterfully out-struck his Japanese adversary. In the third round, as Aoki went for a takedown, Folayang rocked his opponent with a perfectly-timed flying knee to set up the thrilling TKO finish.

Needless to say, it was an amazing sight to behold. Even Ting acknowledges the Filipino’s power and talent, and is strategizing around that to make history as Malaysia’s first-ever MMA World Champion.

“Eduard (Folayang) displayed the best version of himself in the Shinya (Aoki) fight when he won the title. He displayed a lot of patience, he exploded at the right times, and put pressure on at the right times, so he showed a very top-caliber Eduard Folayang, and I expect nothing less in April,” the Malaysian says.

“His wrestling is solid, his timing is obviously one of his strongest strengths, and he defended everything from Shinya (Aoki) despite strong positioning, so yeah, I have a hard task ahead of me.”