ONE Championship: Eduard Folayang explains ‘difficult decision’ to leave Team Lakay
- Folayang recently parted ways with Baguio gym after 16 years, and now plans to train in New Mexico and ‘jump around some facilities’ in California
- ‘I need to get out of my comfort zone as much as possible’ Filipino MMA pioneer says – ‘ I have very limited time in my fighting career’
Eduard Folayang is taking his training to the United States.
Folayang, a two-time former ONE Championship lightweight title-holder, recently revealed his departure from the famed Team Lakay in Baguio City, Philippines, marking the end of 16-year training relationship.
He still has not decided where he will train going forward, but plans to visit some American gyms while he weighs up the options – including Jackson’s MMA in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where he trained for his title-winning defeat of Amir Khan in 2018.
“I’m going to go there again for some weeks, then probably I’ll go to the ONE event [in Denver on May 5],” Folayang, 38, told the Post. “Then probably I’ll finish my training in California. I’ll jump around some training facilities there.”
Folayang says his decision to Team Lakay was “difficult.”
He is a co-founder of the team, and one of its most influential figures, which meant that he also needed to consider the implications for the young teammates that turned to him for inspiration.
“It’s really hard for me because a lot of those young fighters are looking at me,” he said. “As much as possible I want them to focus on their goals. Sometimes I need to make decisions on my own.”