Eight fights eyed for Folayang in OneFC

AT LEAST eight more lucrative fights are being offered to welterweight Eduard Folayang after hammering out a unanimous victory in his One Fighting Championship debut.

Larry Fabian Photo

Bloodied with a broken nose right at the opening round, Folayang came in aggressive against Korean A Sol Kwon with punching combinations and inside leg kicks in the final two rounds in front of a sellout international crowd of 7,000 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

And with his performance, at least eight to ten fights are being offered to the Baguio bred mix martial arts fighter and a wushu multi medalist in international competitions.

“After the fight, I was immediately asked to sign a contract for One FC for at least 8-10 fights but we will still study our options,” said Folayang in local dialect at the Team Lakay Gym.

And following his big victory, it will be Folayang’s biggest paycheck yet receiving at least P350,000 in cash prizes including the fight of the night honors which is Singapore $5,000.

But despite the huge paycheck, Folayang needed at least three stitches after suffering a cut over his right eye, another at the nape, and his broken nose where they had to fix it here in the Summer Capital Monday morning straight after their arrival from Singapore.

This will at least need two weeks to heal according to Folayang.

“We tried na ipaayos sana sa Singapore but the doctors there were afraid kaya what we did is we went home kaagad and we were able to get some remedy at a local hospital dito na sa Baguio,” added coach Mark Singiao.

Toughest fight yet
Despite the tough training, Folayang recalls the Korean as one of the most technical fighters he has fought in mix martial arts.

Kwon, who has a record of 16 wins in his Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) career and one of South Korea’s champions, is considered a good boxer and at the same time was able to hold on Folayang’s ground game as they both mixed it up in a striking game.

“Masyadong matigas kasi kahit anung suntok ang ibigay ko eh hindi bumabagsak,” quipped Folayang who is also being eyed to fight in the next One FC event this coming September.

“Yung first round din kasi ang pinaka mahirap kasi dun na natamaan yung ilong ko tsaka dun sa kilay kaya malaking adjustment sa laban ang ginawa ko sa second at third round,” added Folayang.

Eric Kelly, the only other Filipino fighter in the inaugural event featuring 20 mixed martial artists from 11 countries, also proved a sensation in his international debut as a featherweight.

Kelly put away American Mitch Chilson by submission at the 3:10 mark of the opening round.

A Baguio native just like Folayang, Kelly remains unbeaten in six fights while pinning Chilson his first loss in three bouts.