Team Lakay’s stellar 2018 campaign ended the way they wanted – with Eduard Folayang carrying gold.
Folayang put on a masterful performance in front of a sold out SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City, as he made a ragdoll of fellow contender Amir Khan to win the ONE Lightweight World Championship, Friday evening at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
And what a time to do it, as exactly 378 days ago, Folayang dropped the belt to Martin Nguyen at the same venue. Now, Folayang has become the first-ever two-time Lightweight kingpin of the promotion.
Folayang – who raised his record to 21-6 – joins Kevin Belingon (Bantamweight), Geje Eustaquio (Flyweight), and Joshua Pacio (Strawweight) as the champions of the famed stable.
“I’m so inspired by them. We are a family that helps each other. I inspire them, they inspire me,” Folayang said.
Even up against a knockout artist, Folayang showed no fear.
After getting a taste of Khan’s power in the opening round, Folayang – who trained with Jackson-Wink MMA for this fight – simply overpowered Khan in the second frame. When Khan went for a flying knee, Folayang countered by carrying him up for a takedown. To close out the round, Folayang threw a highlight back-to-back spinning backfist.
In the last three rounds, the 35-year-old kept pushing forward, even showcasing better speed than his opponent, who is 11 years younger. A demoralized Khan tried to go back to his bread and butter that is counter-punching ,but Folayang proved to be just too much.
As the dust settled, everyone inside the arena knew who had won.
Khan dropped to 11-4.
