Team Lakay head trainer Mark Sangiao is certain that there will be fireworks when former ONE Lightweight World Champion Eduard “Landslide” Folayang takes on another former World Champion, Eddie “The Underground King” Alvarez.
The biggest names in the lightweight division from both ends of the globe are set to collide in ONE: Dawn of Heroes on August 2, which is set to take place at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Manila, Philippines.
“We’ve seen Alvarez’ previous fights, and it’s pretty much the same as Eduard’s. We’ll train him well and I know it’s going to be a war.”
Alvarez’s entry into ‘The Home of Martial Arts’ was spoiled when he suffered a first-round technical knockout defeat at the hands of Russian knockout artist Timofey Nastyukhin at ONE: A New Era this past March.
Despite his unsuccessful debut in the world’s largest martial arts organization, Team Lakay still views their upcoming foe as a legend of the sport – and that a win over the American athlete would elevate Folayang’s status in the world of mixed martial arts.
“This will prove that we’re competitive on a world scale if Eduard would beat Eddie,” Sangiao stressed.
“This will only show that Filipino athletes can compete wherever they are in the world.”
Meanwhile, Folayang also lost in his latest outing when he yielded the ONE Lightweight World Title by way of first-round submission against old rival Shinya “Tobikan Judan” Aoki in the main event of A New Era last March.
But the team is already past Folayang’s recent heartbreak, as Sangiao prepares to have the best Folayang possible when ‘The Home Of Martial Arts’ returns to the Philippines.
“Of course, we all know Alvarez is a big name from the West, and he’s already proven himself by winning World Titles in two major promotions,” said Sangiao.
“This is where he’ll prove that he’s truly world-class. If he beats Alvarez, then it would be big for Eduard.”
