GMA Brandtalk
Tracking
Archives
Eduard Folayang out to prove his best days are far from over
Former ONE lightweight title holder Eduard Folayang is raring to showcase that his best days are from over ahead of his upcoming showdown against Amir Khan.
The 34-year-old Folayang is slated to battle the Singaporean knockout artist for the vacant ONE lightweight world title in the co-main event of ONE: Conquest of Champions on November 23 at Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay.
"Landslide" is coming off two dominant victories over previously unbeaten foes Kharun Atlangeriev this past March and Aziz Pahrudinov last July.
Folayang, touted as the face of Philippine mixed martial arts, is out to prove his critics wrong on Friday when he lock horns with Khan, who finished 8 of his 11 opponents by knockout.
"I will be fighting not only for the World Title but to prove that I'm not done yet," said Folayang.
"I want to prove that there's still a lot of me that I need to showcase. It will be a more exciting time for "Landslide'."
The Team Lakay superstar became the king of ONE Championship's stacked lightweight division when he shocked the world by stopping Shinya Aoki in November 2016.
He successfully defended his title once against Ev Ting, but disaster struck when he got knocked out in the second round by Martin Nguyen in his second title defense.
It was a loss that was talked about around the globe. It merely took one perfectly timed right hand from Nguyen to end the Filipino's reign that left him unconscious on the mat for a brief moment.
"After the loss, I looked around and the whole stadium was very silent. I realized I messed up. I don't need to give any excuses but I need to accept that it's already done. I don't want to remain in that moment," Folayang recalls.
"I told myself I need to go back to the gym and do the same thing that I'm doing, but now I need to be more careful and I need to be more prepared in the way I will handle my next opponent."
With the burden of representing the Philippines resting on his shoulders once again, Folayang promises to emerge as a better martial artist having learned from his past mistakes.
"When you are representing the country you need to understand that you will be facing the criticism from your own countrymen and you need to be strong," says Folayang.
Should Folayang come out victorious against Khan, he will be crowned as the fourth athlete from Team Lakay to hold a World Title in the world's largest martial arts organization.
Becoming a two-time ONE Lightweight World Champion, after all, would mean that Folayang gets to join the ranks of ONE Undisputed Flyweight World Champion Geje Eustaquio, ONE Strawweight World Champion Joshua Pacio and ONE Undisputed Bantamweight World Champion Kevin Belingon.
Now more than ever, Folayang predicts that new era of "Landslide" shall rise from the ashes as he dedicates the upcoming bout to his town and daughter.
"I told myself I have a child and I don't want her to see me as a loser. I want to the give the glory back to Baguio because it's my time." — LA, GMA News
