Former lightweight champion Eduard Folayang chalked up another loss at ONE on TNT Part IV. It is three defeats in a row for the 36 year old but this disappointing run of results has not diminished his enthusiasm.
Folayang is very clear in his mind what his current ambitions are and he intends to achieve them,
“I’m not done shooting for my goals. Other people may see it differently, but as for me, it’s far from over. I’m just taking everything in to fuel me and motivate me to have a better outing in my next performance,” he said.
Bouncing back
He has experienced back to back defeats in the past and has always bounced back. Team Lakay has also had its ups and downs and Folayang thinks you should never write him or his training partners off,
“I’m on a tough losing streak, but I don’t think it should be the basis for me being a gatekeeper now, considering that we’ve won world titles before where I’ve had to go through the same adversity and rise up from it.”
Folayang’s international debut lasted just eight seconds. That is how long it took Jon Tuck to knock him out in Saipan in 2019.
Tuck, who is the same age as Folayang, would go on to compete for the UFC and Bellator but has not fought since 2019 while the Filipino is still going strong as he approaches his 37th birthday even if recent results haven’t been going his way.
Constantly improving
Folayang’s longevity is impressive and he feels he can continue to improve as he awaits his next fight offer,
“Obviously, I want to keep on improving in the areas where I’ve struggled in the past like the ground game and takedowns. If I can overcome that, I can show that I can still keep on improving.”
He had originally been set to face Yoshihiro Akiyama at ONE on TNT Part IV and the fourth fight with Aoki only came about because the Japanese fighter withdrew, as did Sage Northcutt.
The Akiyama fight is one that Folayang would still like,
“If I was given the chance to face him, of course, I’d want to test him. I haven’t faced him before and I want to see how I fare against him. Maybe we’ll cross paths, and it would be an honor to finally face him. If that happens, I know I’ll be the sexier man after that match.”
Dreams of gold
He still hopes to reclaim the lightweight title that he lost at ONE: ‘A New Era’ in 2019. It has changed hands since then and is now the property of Christian Lee.
Lee and Folayang have never previously crossed paths. The Filipino knows he is in no position to demand title shots at present but still believes he can earn a fight with the 23 year old prodigy,
“I still want to test myself against him in the future. I know that I am not in the position to call him out now, but still, my eyes are on him.” he says.
