Anyone wondering what life would look like for the stars who left Team Lakay got a glimpse this week. Eduard Folayang shared a photo of him training with some of his famous friends and teammates at Landslide Martial Arts Centre.
The gang were almost all there with Kevin Belingon and Joshua Pacio both immediately recognizable. There was no sign of Honorio Banario although he has been training there.
Clearly a lot has changed with the fighters no longer part of Team Lakay. But they are still training together at a gym that used to belong to their old team.
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New branding
While the gym in La Trinidad has been named after Eduard Folayang, who was Team Lakay’s most famous fighter, the team itself has a different brand. In future the fighters will be representing the newly formed Lions Nation when they compete.
ONE Championship fighters Edward Kelly and Jeremy Pacatiw are also part of the team as well as several fighters at the start of their MMA careers including Estrada Donga-as, Denver Songaben, Aaron Posawen and Jahn Serbo.
Dondon Colas, a retired boxer whose main claim to fame was a loss to Sirimongkol Singmanasak, will be part of the coaching staff as will BJJ black belt Gibran Langbayan.
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Big fights
The fighters all announced that they were leaving Team Lakay in March. For Folayang, Banario, Belingon and Kelly this represents a final chance at MMA glory.
None of them managed to win a fight in 2022, Banario and Kelly didn’t even get to compete. Meanwhile Folayang and Belingon have both lost five in a row and the latter talked about wanting to improve his game when he discussed the reasons for leaving Team Lakay.
These veterans will be hoping that the move to the Landslide Martial Arts Centre can give them the impetus to turn back the clock and relaunch their careers. There is a new team in the Philippines and everyone will be be keeping a close eye on their early results.
