The last time Eduard Folayang stepped inside a ONE Championship stage, he was the recipient of vicious knockout loss to Martin Nguyen that stunned the SM Mall of Asia Arena last November. Not only did he suffer his first defeat since 2014 — he also lost his most prized possession, the ONE Lightweight World Championship.
The months that followed saw the proud son of Baguio corner his teammates during their fights. He witnessed Geje Eustaquio win the interim ONE Flyweight World Championship and Kevin Belingon shoot up the bantamweight ranks.
Moreover, there were a lot of changes during that five-month span, as ONE Championship has adopted a ring while launching the Super Series.
Safe to say, seeing all of these changes have motivated Folayang to get back up.
“I had a good break. It was more mental than anything else,” the 33-year-old Wushu practitioner shared. “I just really needed to take a step back and take it all in, see where I went wrong and what I could have done to prevent it.
“The loss to Martin Nguyen was the toughest in my career, and I think I am a much better martial artist because of it.
“After some time, I went back into training and it was business as usual. I believe it’s important to get your mind right first before anything else, then take care of yourself spiritually, then comes the physical training. Now I’m back in training and I feel great. I’m going hard and I’m really focused on this comeback,” added Folayang, who is 18-6 in his prize fighting career.
Standing in his way on May 18 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium is unbeaten prospect Kharun Atlangeriev. The 25-year-old Russian owns an immaculate 11-0 record. Even if Atlangeriev is making his promotional debut, Folayang knows that he can’t afford to take this match lightly.
“I’ve seen some tape of my next opponent, Kharun Atlangeriev, and I’d say he has some good technical skills. I’m expecting to strike with him first though, so I want to test what he’s like on the feet. This is going to be a matter of gameplanning and how each guy can adapt,” Folayang disclosed.
“I’m a veteran of this sport, and I’ve seen every style there is to see. But I’ll adjust to whatever he comes into battle with.”
Beyond getting his confidence back, Folayang believes that a decisive win will shoot him up the rankings. Maybe, it might even result to another dance with Nguyen.
“I’m excited to be back in action. It’s been a while and I’m ready to take my career back to the top. I know it won’t be easy, but I’m prepared to do what it takes to climb back up,” he said. “There are so many great lightweight competitors in this organization, but I feel like I’m still considered one of the best in this division.
“This match in Singapore is important because I want to show fans that I can still become champion.”
