Eduard Folayang will be taking a break from his training in the United States to attend ONE Championship’s highly-anticipated debut on American soil, officially numbered ONE Fight Night 10, on May 6 (Philippine time).
Folayang headlined the promotion’s inaugural fight card in 2011. He will be sitting cageside with stablemate Joshua Pacio to witness the action featuring 11 bouts at the 1stBank Center in Denver, Colorado.
In addition to immersing himself in the festivities, the former two-time ONE lightweight champion will take advantage of the opportunity to fill out the important entries in his scouting report.
Two pivotal lightweight encounters are lining up for the historic event. Sage Northcutt is returning from a four-year layoff to face Ahmed Mujtaba, while ex-division kingpin Ok Rae Yoon will square off with Lowen Tynanes.
“I think it’s very timely that we’ll be able to watch ONE Fight Night 10 in Denver,” Folayang told Tiebreaker Times.
“I’ll be able to have a close-up view of how their fighting styles have changed, and I also get to enjoy the evening.”
Tynanes is no stranger to Folayang. Both men once fought under Alvin Aguilar’s URCC in December 2012, with the American bruiser beating the Filipino superstar by first-round stoppage.
As usual, “Landslide” takes a never-say-never approach regarding a potential rematch against Tynanes in ONE Championship.
“Anything can happen. You know how our division works. It’s extremely stacked. You can never dismiss the thought that someday, we’ll be fighting again,” he said.
Folayang feels that the dynamics will be much different if he gets the chance to share the stage again with Tynanes. “When we fought before, it was a different mindset for me. We really didn’t understand the inner workings of the sport then, until we finally reached this situation where things have cleared up a lot since,” he mentioned.
Meanwhile, it can be recalled that Northcutt was once on Folayang’s shortlist of possible opponents. At the time, Folayang was lobbying for an all-striking showdown with the American karate prodigy.
The 39-year-old Baguio City native assured that he still hasn’t forgotten about Northcutt. Folayang is looking to get back inside the Circle later this year, but in the meantime, he will simply enjoy the roster of matches slated for ONE Fight Night 10.
“Most of these fights feature current world champions and former titleholders, so it’s going to be one heck of an event, I’m sure.”
