Eddie Alvarez vows to finish Eduard Folayang at ONE: Dawn of Heroes

Eduard Folayang to face former UFC and Bellator lightweight world champion Eddie Alvarez at ONE: Dawn of Heroes on August 2 at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City. PHOTO BY ONE CHAMPIONSHIP

Former UFC and Bellator lightweight world champion Eddie Alvarez has made it clear that he flew all the way to Manila to break the hearts of millions of Filipinos.

Alvarez is slated to square-off against Filipino rival Eduard Folayang at ONE: Dawn of Heroes on August 2 at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay.

Alvarez is all praise and respect for Folayang, a former ONE lightweight world champion, but stressed that he is bent on getting his hand raised on fight night.

"I respect Eduard. I respect everything he’s done not just as a fighter, but also as a human being for his community. This is what this sport is all about. It’s beyond what goes on in the cage," said Alvarez.

"In the movies, heroes always prevail. The nemesis loses, he goes home and everybody’s happy. Unfortunately, that’s not the story here. You picked the wrong guy at the wrong time."

Folayang, for his part, had little to say to his upcoming foe. He merely looked forward to testing his mettle against the his most decorated foe to date, and simply refused to predict an outcome on Friday evening.

"He’s one of those athletes that I spent a lot of time watching before," Folayang told.

"He says this isn’t the right time, but I believe it’s God’s time. It’s a huge honor for me to be able to test my skills against him." — BAP, GMA News