Former two-time ONE Lightweight World Champion Eduard “Landslide” Folayang is glad to return to his striking roots when takes on John Wayne “The Gunslinger” Parr at ONE X on March 26.
Folayang will have the honor of being the legendary Aussie’s Muay Thai retirement bout after Parr spent nearly three decades taking names in the world of kickboxing and Muay Thai.
This is an opportunity that the Filipino plans to seize.
“To be fighting a legend in his retirement bout is such a big opportunity for me. It’s a big honor,” Folayang stated.
“He’s won titles in different divisions, and now I’ll be competing in his territory with a different style, so I have to offer my best.”
But while this will be the first time that the 37-year-old will be competing in ONE Super Series, this won’t be his first rodeo in an all-striking contest.
The pride of Benguet Province traces his roots to wushu sanda where he’s won numerous medals while competing with the Philippine National Team.
That kind of experience makes him confident that he can hang with the Australian for the duration of the bout.
“Of course I’m excited because you know when I was starting with the national team, it was all striking,” he shared.
“Now, I’m back at it again, this time in Muay Thai rules. There will be adjustments of course, but we’ve faced a lot of fighters with similar backgrounds in the past, and that gave me a feel on how Muay Thai fighters compete.”
Not many people expect Folayang to win against Parr, especially given their gap in experience in the sport.
But being an underdog isn’t new for Folayang, and neither is surprising people. That’s exactly what he plans to do against Parr.
“At the end of the day, I have to prepare as hard as I can, and I have to take this fight seriously. There are no giveaways here,” Folayang stated.
“I have to be at my best. I know there will be a lot of people watching, people who look up to me. That’s why I have to use this match to further motivate them.”
In the meantime, ONE returns to live action with ONE: LIGHTS OUT this March 11.
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