ONE Championship pioneer Eduard Folayang ‘happy to still be here’ 10 years after headlining Asian promotion’s first event
- The 37-year-old Filpiino is set to meet ‘legend’ John Wayne Parr in a Muay Thai bout at 10th anniversary showcase ONE X on March 26
- ‘When I headlined the first ONE Championship I envisioned this promotion would go this far – but I never expected in this way,’ he says
In the late summer of 2011, Eduard “The Landslide” Folayang left his Baguio home in the Philippines and boarded a flight to Singapore to compete for a brand new mixed martial arts promotion called ONE Fighting Championship. The Filipino lightweight, then 27 years old, was slated to headline the promotion’s first show opposite South Korea’s Kwon A-sol.
After three rounds under the unfamiliar lights of the Singapore Indoor Stadium, Folayang was announced as the winner by unanimous decision.
Ten years, 22 fights and dozens of international flights later, the 37-year-old is still competing for that promotion, which has since rebranded as ONE Championship, and is now the biggest MMA promotion in Asia.
“I’m excited to be part of a decade of fights for ONE Championship,” Folayang, who has more fights in the organisation than any other athlete, told the Post on Wednesday. “I’m happy I am able to still be here, still healthy, still competing. It’s a very rare opportunity spend a decade in the same promotion.”
Folayang has accomplished a lot since he first visited Singapore to fight for ONE, twice winning the promotion’s lightweight title and battling legends like Shinya Aoki, Eddie Alvarez and Martin Nguyen.
ONE has also changed in that time, notably adding Muay Thai and kick-boxing bouts to its menu through the creation of ONE Super Series.
“When I headlined the first ONE Championship I already envisioned this promotion would go this far – but I never expected in this way,” Folayang said. “They’ve been able to do the Super Series, and it really made a huge difference in the martial arts community.
“They are not only doing the mixed martial arts area, but Muay Thai, kick-boxing, grappling. It’s a big opportunity for every athlete in martial arts to showcase their skills on a big platform.”
Having spent well over a decade as a mixed martial artist, Folayang never expected to compete in ONE Super Series.
But when he received the offer to fight retiring Muay Thai legend John Wayne Parr at ONE X – the promotion’s 10th anniversary celebration on March 26 in Singapore – he could not refuse.
Yamaguchi trains with Sakuraba, Imanari for ONE Championship grappling match
“I was scheduled to fight in mixed martial arts,” he said. “There were some changes and they asked our camp if we were willing to fight John Wayne Parr for his retirement fight. I’m thinking, ‘It’s going to be an all-striking match’.
“I told myself, ‘Wow, this is an opportunity and a challenge to see how good my striking is’, knowing that John Wayne Parr is a legend in Muay Thai and kick-boxing. I need to see how far my striking goes.”
Folayang has competed in kick-boxing and wushu bouts in the past. Those all-striking contests should provide some relevant experience for his Muay Thai fight with the 45-year-old Australian Parr, but he acknowledges the odds are stacked against him.
Still, the value of a win over a legend like Parr makes the gamble worthwhile.
“Fighting him already is a great opportunity, but if I can pull off a big victory then of course it means a lot to me,” Folayang said. “It means a lot to me that I’m facing one of the legends in the sport of Muay Thai. Having a victory over him in his sport is a big factor for me. It will boost my morale, especially because I’m in mixed martial arts. It will have a big impact on my confidence as I compete in mixed martial arts.”
As Folayang suggests, his intention is return to MMA for his next fight – no matter the outcome of his clash with Parr.
He has lost his last four MMA bouts, and six of his last seven, but even after a decade competing in the ONE Circle, he still believes he has what it takes to compete.
ONE Championship: De Ridder prefers Bhullar fight to Malykhin
“As long as I know that I still have the potential to compete I will not back down,” he said. “As much as possible, I want to make my decisions right [in my career], so that I do not suffer the consequences of those decisions. I think that’s one of the greatest factors why I’m still here.”
At 37, and with several high-profile setbacks still looming large in the rear-view mirror, Folayang is asked often about his retirement plans.
He has given some thought to that inevitability, and suspects the transition into life after fighting will be “hard,” but believes he still has more work to do before he arrives at that point.
“I want to see more young athletes rising up, especially [in the Philippines],” he said. “I know there’s a lot of talents out there, and it would be great to see more athletes ready to compete on this big stage. Then I know I can pass the baton to them and go to another area of the same sport.”
So for now, “The Landslide” rolls on.
Early next week, ONE Championship’s longest serving fighter will board another flight to the swelter of Singapore for another foray into a cage that he knows better than anybody else.
“I want to win this fight,” he said. “Shifting to Muay Thai will be an adjustment I’ll have to overcome. If I can overcome that, I know I’ll be able to get the win.”
