Team Lakay all agree: Folayang must prove himself again

SINGAPORE- Former ONE lightweight champion Eduard Folayang and Team Lakay's head coach Mark Sangiao both agree that the Filipino mixed martial arts veteran must prove himself inside the cage again when he takes on Kharun Atlangeriev on the undercard of 'ONE: Unstoppable Dreams' on May 18 at Indoor Stadium in Singapore.

"Eduard has to prove that he's truly a contender for the title. Like what ONE chairman Chatri said, he has to convince the fans, the promotion and show that he's a worthy challenger for the title. What we're aiming to do is for Eduard to win impressively and take back the crown he lost," Sangiao told GMA News Online.

"He has to have this winner mentality, it's very important that he does in order to continue his career. This is a must win fight for Eduard. He still wants to learn and improve even more. He really made an effort for this fight, he went to Manila to work on his grappling. I can see that he is more than decided to win this comeback fight."

Folayang, who is hailed as the face of Philippine mixed martial arts, lost his second title defense to Martin Nguyen this past November. He insists to have learned his lesson from that painful defeat, and is focused on winning convicingly on fight night.

"I'm at the stage where I have to unleash whatever potential I have in this sport. As much as possible, I want to maximize the time I have left so there will be no regrets later on of not having realized my full potential. I want to give my best, unleash the inner greatness in me to inspire more people," said Folayang.

"The most important thing is I perform on fight night. I want to showcase the best of my abilities going to this fight. I do not want to lose this opportunity that I have right now. I'm thinking positively. ONE chairman Chatri is right, I'm at the point where I either make it or break it. I don't want to think that I'm getting old but I am definitely at the critical stage of my career." — BAP, GMA News