Philippines’ Eduard Folayang vs Netherlands’ Pieter Buist is in; Pakistan’s Ahmed Mujtaba is out

Eduard “Landslide” Folayang, 35, was one of the seven “ONE: Fire and Fury” fighters featured in the ONE Championship open workout at One Esplanade in Pasay City, Metro Manila, Philippines on January 28, 2020. He is training out of the Team Lakay gym in La Trinidad, Benguet, Philippines.

The open workout was hosted by Mitch “The Dragon” Chilson, 41, of the United States. The other fighters who participated in the event were Alex “Little Rock” Silva, 37, of Brazil, Jomary “The Zamboanginian Fighter” Torres, 24, of the Philippines and Folayang’s Team Lakay teammates Danny “The King” Kingad, 24, Lito “The Thunder Kid” Adiwang, 26, Gina “Conviction” Iniong, 30, and reigning ONE Strawweight World Champion Joshua “The Passion” Pacio, 23.

Originally, Folayang was set to fight Ahmed “Wolverine” Mujtaba, 26, of Pakistan at “ONE: Fire and Fury,” the second ONE Championship event in 2020. But the Pakistani contender was removed from the card for undisclosed reasons and was replaced by Pieter “The Archangel” Buist, 31, of the Netherlands.

Mujtaba made his professional MMA debut on April 20, 2013 and his ONE Championship debut on November 11, 2016. He went on hiatus in 2019.

Featuring nine mixed martial arts matches and three Muay Thai contests, ONE Championship will hold “ONE: Fire and Fury” at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City, Metro Manila, Philippines on January 31, 2020. In the co-main event of the evening, Folayang and Buist will battle it out in an MMA match in the lightweight division.

Folayang is the first ever Filipino opponent of Buist in an MMA bout. The Dutch contender joined ONE Championship in 2019 and defeated two opponents namely Kota “Harato” Shimoishi, 32, of Japan and Antonio “The Spartan” Caruso, 29, of Australia.

“I want to start the year on a high note, with a statement-making victory,” Folayang said. “I’m hungrier than ever before to make another run at the world title.”

“The last-minute change of opponent is fine,” Folayang continued. “I’ve been in this situation before. It’s a good test for my adaptability and I think this opponent is going to push me to my limits. I’m looking forward to this Friday night and I’m ready to give it my all for the Filipino fans.”