There have been a lot of times that Eduard Folayang has been counted out.
There was a time when Folayang lost four of his last seven fights capped by a scary knockout at the hands of Timofey Nastyukhin back in December of 2014.
Folayang bounced back by stringing together four wins, including winning the ONE Lightweight World Championship.
Then there was a time when he lost his crown to Martin Nguyen in Manila.
Many thought that Folayang will not be able regain the title. He made sure to prove them dead wrong.
After defeating two previously-undefeated Russians, Folayang trained harder than ever — even training over at famed gym Jackson Wink MMA in New Mexico, USA.
Come fight night against Amir Khan, he looked younger than ever.
Though already 35 years of age, he was quicker to the punch against Khan, who is 11 years younger than him.
“Nung nakita kong nasaktan ko na siya, I’m looking for the finish. Pero siguro naging masyadong tense lang ako and yung time is very short for me to finish him,” he said.
“He really prepared. He was able to cope up in the later rounds,” the fighter known as ‘The Landslide’ added.
Once he was able to get his footing, Folayang went wild, throwing an array of spinning back fists while completely having his way with Khan on the mat.
As the dust settled, the proud son of Baguio became the first-ever two-time ONE Lightweight World Champion.
“Akala ko nga fifty-three eh,” he quipped. “Pero you know, age is just a number.
“May kasabihan tayo dito sa Pilipinas na, ‘kalabaw lang ang tumatanda.'”
Come next year however, Folayang will once again be the hunted. Gunning for his belt are Shinya Aoki and Martin Nguyen, both of whom are looking for redemption. Then there’s newcomer Eddie Alvarez, who is looking to make history as the first-ever three-promotion Lightweight World Champion.
Folayang though remains as stubborn as ever.
“It’s really hard to say that martial artists are old. There are fighters who are in their forties but can still perform well.”
