The next big event in the region’s combat sports calendar is ONE Championship’s “Dawn of Heroes,” set for August 2 at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
It’s a pretty stacked card headlined by a featherweight title defense between champ Martin “The Situ-Asian” Nguyen and Japanese contender Koyomi Matsushima (someone who admittedly came out of nowhere and has had only 2 fights in the organization), a co-main event Muay Thai flyweight title defense between the reigning Jonathan Haggerty of the UK and the Thai “Iron Man” Rodtang Jitmuangon.
But some of the most interesting matches are a feature showcase, like former UFC champ Demetrious Johnson versus former Rizin and Deep veteran Tatsumitsu Wada. Of course former UFC and Bellator champ Eddie Alvarez will be throwing down with resurgent Pinoy superstar Eduard Folayang.
Before Friday’s fight night, here’s a filthy casual’s guide to “The Landslide,” his accomplishments, action-packed style, and background.
Baguio Boy, Ifugao Warrior
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Eduard Folayang is an Ifugao native, born and raised in Baguio City, in the Cordillera Administrative Region. One of nine children, Eduard’s father was a laborer and farmer, while his mother did odd jobs as a laundrywoman.
Education was low on the list of priorities so neither of his parents were literate, but they persevered, determined to give their children a better life than they did. Even so, five of his siblings passed away due to illness and lack of resources for proper medical care.
“My parents sacrificed a lot to bring us to school. Sometimes, they even borrowed money just for us to pay our tuition fees,” said Folayang on the ONE Championship website.
Folayang has always represented his Ifugao roots with pride in his fights, citing the blood of the Igorot warrior as one of his advantages in combat sports.
Wushu Days
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHUTohD_imw
One of Folayang’s breakthroughs in life was becoming an athletic scholar at the University of the Cordilleras, where he initially took up Criminology like many of his Team Lakay compatriots. Through competing as a scholar in Wushu Xanda, he eventually made it to the national team, and won eleven major medals, including three golds at the Southeast Asian Games, at competitions abroad.
To this day, much of his MMA base remains firmly rooted in the traditional striking and high-level, high-risk attacks—like spinning heel kicks and spinning backfists—of the first martial art he ever mastered. As he dovetailed trying to get his MMA career off the ground, all plans of getting into the Philippine National Police as an officer were eventually dropped, and instead it was his educational prowess that eventually led him to teach English and P.E. to the Uni of Cordi high school.
Pinoy MMA Pioneer and Journeyman
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Making his debut in MMA in the local Universal Reality Combat Championship in 2007 (where he won against now Philippine Jiu-Jitsu Academy black belt Allan Co at URCC 10 via round 1 TKO), Folayang eventually established himself as a standout in regional promotions like Gorilla Warfare and Singapore’s Martial Combat.
By this time, he had already teamed up with another URCC fighter, Mark Sangiao, to form Team Lakay, eventually finding out that he would need a lot more on his arsenal than just the force of his wushu to compete and dominate at the elite level.
A string of losses to wrestlers and grapplers like Kamal Shalorus and Lowen Tynanes in ONE Championship would force him to re-evaluate his strengths and weaknesses, leading him to eventually make a trip to the US and train at various MMA dojos in 2015, like the Jackson-Wink Academy in New Mexico, where top level UFC fighters like Carlos Condit, John Dodson, and Holly Holm train.
The grind of being a journeyman would pay off and net him wins, but more valuably imbue him with a better, more complete understanding of the MMA game.
Family Man
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His personal life took an upswing when he married his girlfriend Genevieve in 2015. The couple were eventually blessed with a baby girl born in 2017 named Yeshuareigns. After a few years, their second child Yahamazhiach followed.
One Championship’s Lightweight King
When the fledgling One Fighting Championship came knocking on the door of Team Lakay in 2011, Folayang headlined their first-ever event preciously titled “Champion vs Champion” versus Korea’s A-Sol Kwon in Singapore.
The road to contender status was a true grind, but one that eventually led him face to face with one of the most outstanding lightweights on the world: Shinya Aoki. Nicknamed the “Master of Flying Submissions,” Folayang’s now better and more well-rounded game, forged not only through his losses but also through his cross-training trips to the US, enabled him to stand against the grappling onslaught of the former Dream FC and Pride FC champ and eventually implement his game plan.
On ONE: Defending Honor in 2016, he knocked out Aoki in Singapore with strikes on the ground to claim the lightweight world title.
Comeback Kid
Folayang would eventually lose the ONE C belt to surging, and dynamic striker Martin Nguyen in 2017. He dug himself out of a depressive hole and bounced back, coming up with three straight wins over top contenders.
After Martin Nguyen vacated the lightweight title because of injury, he once again captured the lightweight crown after beating up Amir Khan for 5 rounds to a unanimous decision win.
The Aoki Conundrum
Landslide’s fan-friendly action-packed style has always been a delight to viewers. Out of his 17 wins, 8 are finishes. But he would face Aoki again as the Japanese icon had also dug himself out of 2 losses, including one to current UFC welterweight Ben Askren. This time Aoki had come prepared, was patient, and did not hurry through his paces as he dominated the Baguio-native in the transitions, eventually tightening his trap and getting Landslide in an inescapable arm triangle choke at ONE: A New Era last March 31.
Folayang is again looking for redemption and it has presented itself in the form of Philly’s Eddie Alvarez. His sights are set on that belt that Singapore’s Christian Lee now holds, but he may need to get past Aoki once more, and if so he’ll need a better game plan to follow than last time.
Landslide Vs Underground King
As part of ONE’s lightweight grand prix semi-finals, Folayang now faces “The Underground King” Eddie Alvarez at the Dawn of Heroes on August 2 at MoA Arena.
The former Bellator and UFC champ is no joke, even coming off a recent loss at his promotional debut to the Russian mauler Timofey Nastyukhin. His striking, when on point, is crisp and possessed of bombs. His wrestling pedigree is also outstanding. Let’s also note that he already defeated Shinya Aoki back in 2012.
Asked how Alvarez planned on defeating Folayang, he responded on Twitter, saying: “I am better [than Eduard] everywhere, I have to be relaxed and enjoy myself.”
At the pre-fight press conference held at the City of Dreams on July 30, Alvarez stated that “It’s unusual for me to be the bad guy. But I promise you if I’m the bad guy then I will not disappoint, I’ll continue to be a bad guy. I respect Eduard. In the movies heroes always prevail, their nemesis loses and goes home and everybody’s happy. Unfortunately, that’s not the story I’m here to write.”
Folayang responded with his signature calm demeanor, saying “I just lost my belt last March but that chapter is already closed. I’m here to write another chapter of my journey.”
While Folayang has a slight striking advantage on paper, Alvarez is clearly the better wrestler. Both of them have been known to throw caution to the wind and simply make it a brawl full of aggression and intensity.
What makes this one a fight of interest is the chance that both will simply stand in front of each other and empty out their tool box with aplomb and the joy of combat. God, I know any MMA fan hopes and prays that’ll happen.
“ONE Championship: Dawn of Heroes” happens on August 2 at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City
