The last time Eduard Folayang entered a ONE cage in Manila, he lost his prized Lightweight World Championship. 259 days later, he was able to exorcise that ghost.
Living Philippine mixed martial arts legends Folayang peppered previously-unbeaten Russian Aziz Pahrudinov en route to a unanimous decision victory, Friday evening during ONE: Reign of Kings.
This is Folayang’s second straight win since losing the title to Martin Nguyen, lifting his prized fighting career record to 20-6. Pahrudinov, on the other hand, suffered his first loss in 21 bouts.
Loose on his feet, the 34-year-old Wushu specialist bombarded his 29-year-old opponent with a barrage of leg kicks to open the bout. Already feeling the effects of the kicks, Pahrudinov went for multiple shoots, succeeding on his final attempt to close out the opening round.
Folayang continued to rain down leg kicks, causing major swelling on Pahrudinov’s left leg.
Pahrudinov immediately went for a shoot to a take down to start the final stanza. However, the Russian lightweight could not keep Folayang down, as his leg was clearly bothering him. He was able to land a clean shot to close out the round, but it was not enough to stun Folayang and the hometown crowd.
Earlier, Garry Tonon found success in his second-ever mixed martial arts bout, as he stuck to his bread and butter, submitting Indian fighter Rahul Ruju.
Wary of Tonon’s impressive grappling skills, Ruju tried to keep the bout on the feet. But Tonon was able to find a way to ground his opponent during the third round.
Sensing blood, Tonon was able to gain Ruju’s back late in the bout, slapping a tight rear naked choke with 1:33 seconds to spare.
The IBJJF World Champion remains unbeaten in two bouts, while Ruju went down to 5-3.
ONE: Reign of Kings results
July 27, 2018 – SM Mall of Asia Arena, Pasay City
- Lightweight bout (MMA): Eduard Folayang def. Aziz Pahrudinov via unanimous decision
- Lightweight bout (MMA): Garry Tonon def. Rahul Ruju via round 3 submission (3:27, rear naked choke)
