COVID-19 has struck again, this time at the ONE on TNT IV event on April 28.
ONE Championship confirmed today that welterweight Eduard Folayang (22-10-0) will replace Sage Northcutt (11-3-0) to face Shinya Aoki (46-9-0, 1NC) for a third time.Both fighters have one win apiece.
🤯 LEGEND VS. LEGEND TRILOGY 🤯
Shinya Aoki will now face Eduard Folayang in the final chapter of their historic rivalry on 28 April! 💥 @a_ok_i @efolayang #WeAreONE #ONEChampionship #ONEonTNT4 pic.twitter.com/v8HClJw49m— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) April 12, 2021
Northcutt is currently recovering from lingering complications from testing positive for the coronavirus in January. He told MMA Crossfire in December 2020 on the TKO Countdown show that he was looking forward to returning to competition.
Special thanks to @ONEChampionship 's @sagenorthcutt for sharing his story with us today! #ufc #mma #onechampionship #sagenorthcutt #asia #teamalphamale #california @colbeynorthcutt pic.twitter.com/SQWliYIT3W
— TKO Countdown Nation (@nation_tko) December 14, 2020
But Northcutt’s loss is now Folayang’s gain.
“Landslide,” 37, was originally scheduled to fight Yoshihiro Akiyama but became idle when Akiyama had to pull out with an injury. This fight is a chance to snap a two-fight losing skid.
Meanwhile, Aoki, 37, is a former lightweight champion who lost the belt to Christian Lee in May 2019. He has won three straight contests since.
Speaking of Lee, he is scheduled to defend the lightweight title this Thursday April 14 against Timofey Nastyukhin in the main event of ONE on TNT II.
Another DYNAMITE event is headed your way NEXT WEDNESDAY on TNT! 🧨 Don’t miss Christian Lee vs. Timofey Nastyukhin, the return of Janet Todd and MORE at ONE on TNT II! @ChristianLeeMMA @yoshikinakahara @siegfried715 #WeAreONE #ONEChampionship #ONEonTNT2 pic.twitter.com/aXsr9AaTrX
— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) April 9, 2021
More bouts for ONE on TNT IV are expected to be announced.
