Eduard Folayang and Joshua Pacio’s entourage in their next bouts under the ONE Championship banner will be much different from what many have been accustomed to following their surprising exit from Team Lakay over a month ago.
Although it is yet to be determined who will be feeding them important instructions from outside the cage and in between rounds during actual matches, two prominent coaches in the sport of mixed martial arts have already thrown their hats into the ring.
Greg Jackson and Mike Winkeljohn have pledged their services to the former ONE world champions in case they need personnel to man their respective corners.
“We would love to corner these guys. They have fantastic character, they do the right thing, and having them be part of us and us be part of them, I think it will make this whole sport bigger,” Winkeljohn told Tiebreaker Times.
Folayang and Pacio are presently training at the Albuquerque, New Mexico-based Jackson Wink MMA Academy—a stable that has produced a number of world-class mixed martial artists who went on to become world champions, including Jon Jones, Georges St-Pierre, Alistair Overeem, Rashad Evans, Carlos Condit, and Holly Holm, to name a few.
It was a sight to behold for Jackson, who has keenly been following Folayang and Pacio’s development as competitors through the years.
“They’re both amazing athletes. They’re very technically sound. They’ve got an amazing skill set already. They’re great people too. They fit in very, very well here. It’s a pleasure to watch them spar and train and just try to help them out any way I can,” the three-time Coach of the Year said.
Jackson admitted that he was genuinely surprised by how quickly both men acclimatized to their in-house system.
(C) Eduard Folayang
“They’re just very stoic personalities. They got in and went right to it. Like some people, they like to take their time and acclimate, trying to get a feel for it. They just jumped right in, and it was very impressive to watch,” he divulged.
“There’s something in the water in the Philippines because you have so many amazing fighters come out of there, just fighter after fighter after fighter. I don’t know what it is. Genetics, culture—I don’t know, but you guys can crank these amazing warriors out,” Jackson continued.
Meanwhile, Winkeljohn plans to maximize the opportunity of working with the aforementioned Baguio City natives, particularly Pacio.
“For Joshua, we just sat down and had breakfast, and I was like, ‘Gosh, I kind of want to have the opportunity to work with him,'” Winkeljohn mentioned.
“I want them to come in and work on their skills in the gym and learn from them as well. We’re excited about having them here.”
Folayang and Pacio may have had a bigger bang for their buck with the once-in-a-lifetime experience, but Jackson feels it’s the other way around.
“I just have to say how impressed I am by them. They’re both great guys, and what a contribution they’re going to get. We’re going to help them, but I think they might help us more because they’re great training partners and people. Somehow, we won the lottery, and we got these guys,” he remarked.
Jackson hopes that Folayang and Pacio’s diligence and disposition as athletes will manage to rub off on their current roster of talents.
“I’m hoping that when some of these younger fighters come in and they look at these guys, see their work ethic, and realize how tough they are, I’m hoping that inspires the whole team. Hopefully, we’ll have some of that Filipino magic here in Albuquerque, New Mexico,” he ended.
Folayang has set his sights on fighting twice this year, with plans to compete in the July 7th card and the September 1 event. Meanwhile, Pacio has already picked out two potential opponents for his comeback fight: the winner of Bokang Masunyane vs. Hiroba Minowa on April 22, and the No. 4-ranked strawweight contender, Gustavo Balart.
