Eight months after forming Lions Nation MMA, Eduard “Landslide” Folayang’s team has had a relatively successful run. 

During that time, Folayang returned to the winner’s circle while Joshua “The Passion” Pacio brought back the ONE Strawweight MMA World Title to the Philippines – controversies aside. 

While the former two-time ONE Lightweight MMA World Champion is happy to see himself succeed in a new light, Folayang admits that he’s still having a hard time balancing fighting, coaching, and managing. 

“It’s difficult. My heart is still in fighting, but in a way my management and leadership abilities are being improved through this,” he said. 

Folayang has stated time and again that his competitive fire still burns, and that he still sees no reason to hang up his gloves, especially after knocking out Amir Khan last year. 

For now, however, it’s all about pinpointing priorities and being efficient and smart with his time. 

“I need to understand that I’m still in a transitional phase. I have to identify what my priorities are so, in the end, I won’t get left behind, whether it be in fighting or coaching,” he said.

Speaking of fighting, “The Landslide” is eyeing a return to the Circle in a couple of months as he hopes to stay active in 2024. 

The Filipino MMA icon wants at least two fights this year, and he believes those matches will help him decide if he should continue fighting or transition fully to coaching and managing. 

“I’m hoping by the second or third quarter of the year I get to return to active competition. Hopefully I get to fight twice this year, and after that maybe I can determine what my next steps are,” he said. 

“So yeah, I hope I get those fights this year and, based on the result, it will help me decide my fate next year.”