ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Sports devider Fil-Am Eddie Abasolo hopes to compete in the Philippines this year

Fil-Am Eddie Abasolo hopes to compete in the Philippines this year

Published Feb 14, 2024 06:07 am

At A Glance

  • Filipino-American Muay Thai star Eddie "Silky Smooth" Abasolo described his experience competing inside Lumpinee Boxing Stadium as being like a kid in Disneyland for the first time, and he doesn't expect that feeling to change when he heads back to Bangkok, Thailand this week. 

Filipino-American Muay Thai star Eddie “Silky Smooth” Abasolo described his experience competing inside Lumpinee Boxing Stadium as being like a kid in Disneyland for the first time, and he doesn’t expect that feeling to change when he heads back to Bangkok, Thailand this week. 

Niclas-Larsen-Eddie-Abasolo-ONE-Fight-Night-8-16.jpg
Filipino-American Muay Thai star Eddie “Silky Smooth” Abasolo (ONE Championship)

Abasolo returns to “The Mecca of Muay Thai” once again to face tough-as-nails Luke “The Chef” Lessei in a featherweight Muay Thai bout at ONE Fight Night 19: Haggerty vs. Lobo this Saturday, Feb. 17, and he plans to continue to live his dream by putting on a show for the awesome Thai fans in attendance. 

“Even though I’ve fought there once, it’s like a kid at Disneyland. It’s a dream come true. When I started this journey, I would watch fighters and people that I grew up on, Muay Thai legends, and it’s always been a dream of mine to fight in Lumpinee,” he said.

“Before ONE, unless I moved out to Thailand and went through the circuits, I feel like [that would be] the only way I would have had the pleasure of touching the stadium. But because of ONE Championship, I was able to touch Lumpinee. 

“It’s surreal the first time. I think it’s gonna be surreal the second time. I probably won’t get over it when I’m at Lumpinee. The first time I walked in there, I could just feel the energy and I loved it.” 

After he puts on a show against his fellow American on the biggest Muay Thai stage in the world this Saturday, Abasolo wants to tick off yet another one of his bucket-list goals. 

Though he’s always been in touch with his roots growing up in California’s Filipino-American communities, “Silky Smooth” has yet to actually experience being in the Philippines. 

It’s something that he hopes to achieve this year, and with ONE Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong having teased a return to the Philippines in 2024, Abasolo wants in – especially if he impresses against Lessei. 

“I know ONE Championship held a card in the Philippines, and I’m just looking for the opportunity for that to happen again and, hopefully, I could be in it,” he said. 

“I’ve never been in the Philippines. That’s one of the top three on my bucket list in life and if that ever happens, for sure I’ll take my wife and kids with me.” 

But that’s for a later story. For now, his focus is on Lessei and representing the country to the best of his abilities the moment he steps into Lumpinee Stadium.  

“I’m proud to be a representative of the Philippines when it comes to Muay Thai,” he said. “I wear the colors with pride. I’m just so blessed and I hope to make my people proud.”

Related Tags

ONE Championship
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.