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Manila Bulletin devider Sports devider 'I was able to set the tone' – Eduard Folayang hopes KO win of Amir Khan inspires teammates

'I was able to set the tone' – Eduard Folayang hopes KO win of Amir Khan inspires teammates

Published Oct 3, 2023 07:16 am

At A Glance

  • Former two-time ONE Lightweight MMA World Champion Eduard "Landslide" Folayang knew that all eyes would be on him as he ushered in a new era of Philippine MMA.

Former two-time ONE Lightweight MMA World Champion Eduard “Landslide” Folayang knew that all eyes would be on him as he ushered in a new era of Philippine MMA.

Eduard-Folayang-Amir-Khan-ONE-Fight-Night-14-86-1200x800.jpeg
ONE Lightweight MMA World Champion Eduard “Landslide” Folayang (ONE Championship)

After all, he just debuted as a representative for Lions Nation MMA on the global stage at ONE Fight Night 14: Stamp vs. Ham on Saturday, Sept. 30.

Replacing his signature Team Lakay red shorts with lion-embroidered black and gold trunks, Folayang got the first win for his new squad after finishing Amir Khan inside Singapore Indoor Stadium. 

“Landslide” understands that with every new endeavor there are people who will look for failure. But he believes that this performance has helped his other teammates settle down, particularly Joshua “The Passion” Pacio, who takes on Mansur Malachiev at ONE Fight Night 15 this Saturday. 

“I feel like this victory is truly a blessing from the Lord. People will always be looking for our mistakes, waiting for your failure. But having a victory like this, it only pushes us further, and now we’re looking forward to a great performance from Joshua (Pacio) next week,” he said. 

“I’m happy that I was able to set the tone to inspire them to dream, believe, and have the confidence that we can do it.” 

Knowing that his entire team was under the microscope in this match, Folayang left it all in the ring in round three after two close frames in which Khan had his own success.

That in mind, he knew that he wouldn’t be in a good position should the fight hit the scorecards.  

“If it went to the judges, I know it really will hang in a balance,” he said. 

“My mentality was, if it does go to the judges, there has to be something convincing that I did to get the nod, because after the first two rounds, I feel like we’re just even.” 

With the inaugural ONE Featherweight MMA World Champion Honorio Banario in his corner, Folayang came out for the third round with a different fire in his eyes. He took the fight to the Singaporean and pushed him into the Circle fence. 

Instead of the single power shots that he was throwing all night long, the Filipino MMA icon worked on his combinations, and it paid off in a big way. He flattened Khan in the middle of the third round with a left punch before finishing him off with ground-and-pound. 


“I noticed that when I was hitting him twice, he was only moving back once. Entering the third, I knew that I had to let go of more combinations, probably a four punch combo [that would] connect,” he said.

“I felt like everything connected during that time, a one-two, then a third one, and then finally I got him good and got him down. The moment he hit the ground, I made sure to follow it up.”

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