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MANILA, Philippines – Renowned Filipino fighter Eduard Folayang is determined to place himself back on the winning track as he is booked to compete at ONE Championship's “Clash of Heroes” event on January 29.
Folayang (14-5) is coming off a painful loss to Russian prospect Timofey Nastyukhin, who brutally knocked him out in their December 2014 lightweight encounter.
Nastyukhin turned the lights off on Folayang with a flying knee and then nailed two soccer kicks on the ground to coerce referee Yuji Shimada to stop the action at 3:11 of the first round.
Folayang, who is widely regarded as the face of Philippine mixed martial arts, is not new to a knockout setback as he was finished in three of his five losses.
In November 2009, it only took 8 seconds for Guamanian standout Jon Tuck to beat Folayang by landing a right straight on the Filipino fighter’s chin.
His second knockout defeat came at the hands of Lowen Tynanes, who was relatively unknown when he locked horns with Folayang at Universal Reality Combat Championship’s tenth anniversary event in December 2012.
Tynanes, who is a highly-touted wrestler in the sport, immediately took the fight on the mat and exposed Folayang’s weakness.
One swipe of an elbow from Tynanes opened a huge cut on Folayang’s right eye as blood smeared all over his face, prompting referee Joey Lepiten to halt the contest early in the first round upon doctor’s recommendation.
The third one occurred versus Nastyukhin, who got the job done by rendering Folayang unconscious with a flying knee and two follow-up soccer kicks to the temple.
According to Team Lakay head coach Mark Sangiao, he chose to put Folayang on the shelf for over a year to recuperate from the excruciating defeat.
"Eduard has been waiting for his fight since last year. But since his knockout loss, he had to rest and recover. Right now, he is ready and prepared. The fire and desire to fight are back," he told Rappler.
Sangiao believes that the long layoff will not affect Folayang’s performance as he stayed active in the gym and prepared for his return inside the ONE Championship cage.
In addition, the veteran mentor pointed out that his pupil’s mental acuity remains intact and sharp despite the knockout setback.
"We're following procedures. We're more on science. He didn't stop training and sparring. I don't think there's no problem," Sangiao stated.
For his comeback bout, Folayang faces Japanese lightweight Tetsuya Yamada on the undercard of ONE: Clash of Heroes, which takes place at the 10,000-seater Stadium Negara in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
“He is fighting a veteran like him in this fight. We only saw and watched one video of Eduard’s opponent. We are currently maximizing our limited resources to study Yamada,” Sangiao shared.
Sangiao stressed that Folayang is eager to claim a decisive victory over Yamada to insert his name into the winner’s column once again and send a loud message that he is not yet done in the sport.
“Eduard is flexible. He just needs to keep his focus. I can also see that he wants to win in decisive manner,” he ended. – Rappler.com
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