Shozo Isojima vows dominant finish over Eduard Folayang at The Inner Circle 21

What happens to a fighter with nothing left to lose? Shozo Isojima meets Filipino icon Eduard Folayang in a lightweight MMA co-main event at The Inner Circle 21 on Friday, July 10. The bout streams live for members in Asia primetime from Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.

Isojima enters off back-to-back defeats, and the 28-year-old judoka has no illusions about what is at stake. He believes this fight will define the direction of his ONE Championship career.

That urgency has reshaped his daily routine entirely. He had previously balanced elite competition with his job as a physical education teacher, but the shift in commitment has been total.

“In my last two fights, I really lost without being able to do anything at all. This fight feels like my survival in ONE Championship is on the line. I need to win for sure. I need to leave a really strong impression, winning in a dominant way,” the Japanese fighter said.

“If I don’t win in an overwhelming way, the future conversation changes. So I’m aiming for an early finish and building everything toward achieving a good result.

“Now, I’m basically just training in martial arts. So I’m able to spend time on preparing for fights and conditioning my body. Thinking about fighting against top fighters, I felt like I needed to dedicate everything to it.”

Shozo Isojima targets Eduard Folayang’s veteran wall

Shozo Isojima respects the magnitude of the man across from him, but respect has not changed his game plan. Folayang remains a heroic figure in the Philippines with 23 career victories to his name.

Isojima believes the clearest path to victory is dragging the fight into deep water and letting his conditioning take over in the championship rounds.

“As a fighter, I’m really grateful to ONE for finding such a big-name opponent for me every single time. He’s still a heroic figure in the Philippines, and even though he’s become quite a veteran fighter at this point, I felt like he’s a wall I need to overcome,” Isojima said.

“As for his strengths, I think his stand-up striking and the way he applies pressure there are really strong, watching him.

“For my part, I want to weather the striking exchanges and bring it to the ground game. Since he’s a veteran fighter, I think by the second or third round, my stamina will definitely be stronger, so I want to bring the fight into that kind of situation.”