Should Eduard Folayang retire? MMA fighters, analyst share their take

Many Filipino mixed martial arts fans have called for the retirement of former ONE lightweight world champion Eduard Folayang after he suffered his fourth consecutive defeat at the hands of Zhang Lipeng at ONE: Battlegrounds II earlier this month.

The 37-year-old was taken to the mat for most of the opening round but was able to come back in the second and third rounds. In the end, the ground control proved to be the deciding factor as the Chinese newcomer was awarded a unanimous decision nod after three rounds.

Fight fans were quick to point out that Folayang is past it and suggest it was time for the Team Lakay superstar to retire shortly after the fight. But for former ONE flyweight world champion Geje Eustaquio, his teammate’s performance indicates that Folayang is far from over.

“For me, based on his performance, that was not the performance of a retiring guy. I am rolling and training with this guy and he is still the best in the gym. When we run he is still the fastest, when we do the weights he is still the strongest,” Eustaquio shared.

“How can you tell him it is time to hang up his gloves? Give him three or four more years. He can touch many lives and inspire individuals. Let's push him to regain his confidence and be motivated more to get the belt one more time. He is improving, it was just not his night.”

For Filipino striker and owner of one of the fastest knockouts in ONE Champion history Burn Soriano, Filipinos should rather support their countrymen instead of kicking them while they are down.

“There are many casual Pinoy MMA fans who still cannot appreciate. My advice is to support Filipino fighters especially online,” Soriano said.

“It is good to have emotional support because it gives them strength and high morale because even though they shrug it off deep inside they feel it. They should study the sport and stop being keyboard warriors.”

Combat sports analyst Nissi Icasiano, meanwhile, believes that the decision to retire should be left to Folayang and Folayang alone. He also suggested that taking a time off could do wonders to the man touted as the face of Philippine MMA.

“Combat sports athletes are wired to do this. It takes a different breed to lace a boxing glove or strap four-ounce MMA gloves. It takes enormous balls to step in the ring or the cage. The decision has to come from the person itself,” he stated.

“I have seen worse. That was not the kind of fight that you conclude that his time is up. He is still there, believe me. People only see what is on the surface. I think he has to step back for a year to think over and recover since he has been very busy since 2018.”

—JMB, GMA News