Two-time ONE Lightweight World Champion Eduard Folayang struggled to find his range on Friday evening during ONE: Fire and Fury at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
Facing a taller fighter, the Philippine mixed martial arts icon suffered a split decision loss against Pieter Buist.
This is Folayang’s third loss in his last four bouts. His record falls to 22-9.
A creative striker, the 36-year-old Baguio-native could not connect with the big blows against Buist, who replaced Ahmed Mujtaba a week before the event. It also did not help that Folayang was 20-centimeters shorter than the Dutch.
Folayang saw himself in danger multiple times in the last two rounds.
Midway through the second stanza, Buist locked Folayang in a tight triangle choke but the Filipino was able to slip away. In the crucial third round, the visitor attempted a guillotine choke; again, Folayang did not allow himself to be trapped.
The waning moments of the bout saw the two athletes slug away until the final bell.
Buist went up to 17-4, extending his streak to eight straight wins and putting himself in line for a title shot.
