Eduard Folayang is eager to set the pace for his fellow Filipino fighters, especially for Team Lakay, when he returns to the Circle in ONE on Prime Video 5 at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City Saturday morning.
While ONE Prime 5 is slated in the morning session here in Manila, ONE: 164, which will be headlined by the strawweight title defense of Joshua Pacio against Jarred Brooks, is scheduled in the evening.
Folayang, alongside Denice Zamboanga, will be starting action for the Philippines as he takes on Edson Marques of Brazil in three-round lightweight match.
"It would be fireworks. I'll be starting it," said Folayang, who holds a 22-12 record mixed martial arts record. "The fire will start in the lead card and for sure we'll do our very best to give you guys the best show this coming Saturday."
Folayang has yet to find redemption for his storied MMA career after suffering four straight defeats since January 2020.
But a huge turnaround win in a special muay thai bout against the legendary John Wayne Parr gave him extra motivation to march on with his MMA journey.
His last MMA win came at the expense of Tsogookhuu Amarsanaa during their bout in November 2019.
Heading into his match against Marques, the two-time ONE lightweight champion keeps that fire burning inside of him knowing that a new generation of young athletes is looking up to him.
"My motivation is the young Filipinos," said Folayang. "I always want to inspire them, to become a champion in their own field. As we can see, the ONE Warrior Series was successfully held and a lot of upcoming fighters are getting good.
"That's one of the things that keeps me going in this sport," he added.