Eduard Folayang Looking to Knock Out Eddie Alvarez
Former ONE Lightweight World Champion Eduard “Landslide” Folayang will get a shot at redemption when he takes on his dream opponent, Eddie “The Underground King” Alvarez at ONE: DAWN OF HEROES on 2 August at the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila, Philippines.
Folayang relinquished the ONE Lightweight World
Championship to Japanese grappling legend Shinya “Tobikan Judan” Aoki at ONE:
NEW ERA in March. The Team Lakay athlete will enter the Alvarez bout at a
critical time in his career, and a win would likely put him at the front of the
line once more for another shot at the belt.
“My journey as a World Champion is like a roller coaster,” said
Folayang.
“There are times when I am a World Champion and people look up to me.
There are also times when I am defeated, so I will try again to climb the
ladder to get the belt back.
“I got it, but lost it again this time. I think
the most challenging part is how to get yourself back on the winning track. We
are going to start again. That is not something new to us,” he added.
Despite
his recent setbacks, Folayang wants to continue to improve his skills and
bounce back strong.
“One
of the things that I learned in my career so far is to never stop learning and
improving as much as possible because you should realize that everyone is
aiming to become a [World] Champion,” said Folayang.
“As an athlete, if you start to think that you are good, you will no longer
grow. [That is why] as much as possible, I want to learn to be better, sharpen
my strengths, and improve my weaknesses.”
Before he puts another digit in the win column though, Folayang will have to go
through another former multiple-time World Champion in Alvarez who is in
desperate need of a win after losing his ONE debut.
“I think Eddie is a good martial artist – you will not become a World Champion
if you don’t have a good approach to being a martial artist,” Folayang
said.
“I believe wrestling and boxing are his strengths, but if you’ll look at
Eddie’s track record, you will see that almost all his defeats are from
high-level strikers – that is his weakness. It’s hard, but I am pushing myself
to prepare.”
The
Filipino athlete remains optimistic of his chances against the American and is
looking to beat him by way of knockout.
“A
knockout and submission will always be there if you are in the proper position
– that is a given,” he said. “I think it will end in a knockout.”
Fortunately
for Folayang, he won’t be facing Alvarez alone as he will have the entire crowd
behind him in Manila.
“Having
this bout here in the Philippines gives me confidence,” he concluded. “Those
are what give me the confidence to face him in this bout – my preparation and
the crowd.”
Additionally,
ONE Championship is launching special edition merchandise to commemorate the
blockbuster Eduard Folayang vs Eddie Alvarez bout which takes place at ONE:
DAWN OF HEROES. The commemorative t-shirt will be available for sale at the
Mall of Asia Arena on 2 August.
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