Team Lakay stalwart Eduard Folayang is all up for the challenge when he takes on Australian muay thai legend John Wayne Parr in ONE: X, ONE Championship's 10th year anniversary, at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on March 26.
Folayang, taking a short break from mixed martial arts, accepted the challenge offered by ONE Championship to clash with Parr, who is set for his retirement muay thai match against the Team Lakay veteran.
"I'm originally matched to fight an ex-UFC fighter and then hindi natuloy 'yon (it was cancelled) due to some injury reason and sinabi ni coach na (and coach Mark said that) they want a retirement fight for John Wayne Parr and 'they (ONE) choose you on his last dance,'" said Folayang during the ONE Media event -- the first face-to-face press conference of ONE in Manila since January 2020 -- at Novotel Manila in Cubao, Quezon City Saturday, March 5.
"And that's it. I agreed and the fight was on," added the Team Lakay stalwart, who will showcase his grassroots martial arts skills of kickboxing and muay thai.
The match will follow the ONE Super Series Muay Thai rules as both fighters will showcase their bread and butter of striking.
For Folayang, 37, this is a chance for him to test his limits and skills anew as a martial artist.
And as someone who has been with the promotion for the past decade, winning his first debut match against A Sol Kwon in September 2011, Folayang wouldn't let this opportunity pass by him.
"What motivates me is 'yong (the) challenge being a martial artist. 'Yon naman 'yong gusto natin. The more na malaki 'yong challenge, the more na napu-push tayo, the more na nache-check natin 'yong mga kailangan nating paghandaan (That's what we want. The bigger the challenge, the more we are pushed to the limits, the more we can check how much we should prepare)," added the two-time ONE lightweight champion.
"I will be fighting him in his territory and doon makikita kung gaano din kalawak or gaano kabilis 'yong adjustment ko (I will be fighting him in his territory and that's when we can see how much adjustment we should make)."
Folayang hopes to get back in the win column, though not in the MMA scene, after only winning once out of his past seven matches since is second meeting against Japanese rival Shinya Aoki in March 2019.
The 45-year-old Parr, a 10-time kickboxing and Muay Thai world champion, for his part, will be taking on his swan song after also suffering three straight losses since March 2018. (Carlo Anolin) ###