Folayang to face Nguyen in a fight for supremacy
Action-packed Friday night will be seen at the Mall of Asia Arena as two great world champions Edward Folayang and Martin Nguyen will face off and battle out for supremacy against the other on ONE: Legends of the World.
After successfully defending his title against Ev Ting, ONE Lightweight World Champion Edward “Landslide” Folayang will be challenging ONE Featherweight World Champion Martin “The Situ-Asian” Nguyen as the main event of ONE Championship: Legends of the World.
For Folayang, this matchup is an opportunity to honor his country. “Representing the Philippines and showcasing my skills is an honor for me. Filipinos are truly world-class. We have the ability to hang with the best, no matter what the field. That is why I accepted this challenge in front of me. Join me as I continue my journey this coming Friday. Winning this bout is my top priority, to keep this belt on my shoulder. It is going to be tough, but I have my people to support me. I want to make everyone proud. I want to show the fans that Filipino athletes are world-class.”
Nguyen, on the other hand, will unleash all that he has prepared for in this match as this is a rare opportunity for him. “I have worked very hard to be in this position. Eduard Folayang is a great champion and embodies the true values of martial arts. I know chances like this are very rare. I will do my best to take another world title home for my family and all of my fans. 2017 has already been a big year for me, and I am looking to end it with another belt on my shoulder.”
Thus, at the end of the match, Nguyen said that this is about two fighters battling, with the crowd as the real winner. “You just go in there, show what you prepared for in the last six weeks, and the rest is history. It’s actually up to the man upstairs himself to think if you’re a winner or not. Then it’s gonna be two warriors going head to head. The crowd will be the winner.”
And for the first time, Danny “The King” Kingad, from the renowned Team Lakay from Baguio City will be also be joining the main event, as he challenges ONE Flyweight World Champion Adriano “Mikinho” Moraes.
Given his first title match, Kingad thanks the divine for the opportunity to be part of the main event. “Talagang thankful nga ako, lalo kay God, dahil sabi nga nila, kung para sa’yo, sayo. Tapos tinuloy tuloy ko, tapos andito na ako.”
While on the other hand, Moraes will not let Kingad get his title. “It’s my first time in Manila. I am very excited to compete against a highly-touted prospect like Danny Kingad. I respect him. It’s going to be a tough night, but I’m looking forward to it. I’m going out on Friday to try to keep my world championship belt around my waist.”
The Legends of the World would also include the match between Kevin “The Silencer” Belingon, also from the famous Team Lakay, will be fighting against South Korean Kevin “Old Boy” Chung.
With the continuous success of ONE Championship, this matchup between Folayang and Nguyen was something to be watched out for according to ONE Championship Vice President Rich Franklin. “It was interesting seeing the video when Martin said to Edward on the video “One day, that title’s gonna be mine.” I’m not sure if he’s referring actually to the Lightweight title but it’s kinda almost manifests destiny to see something like this to happen because not only does he have his title but he’s jockey to the possible Lightweight title so it’s interesting.”
On the Folayang and Nguyen’s body size differences, Franklin assured that both fighters are fairly matched. “It doesn’t appear to be a David versus Goliath matchup. They seem to be fairly well sized guys.”
Thus, when he was asked about Nguyen participating in this matchup, he explained that it was only an opportunity Nguyen grabbed. “We didn’t force him into this matchup, we just offered an opportunity. Come Friday night, if does happen to win the title, then I believe once again, he will look at the opportunities and defend his title as well.”
Prior to the main event, there will be matches on the main card from Singapore’s Alex Silva versus Hayato Suzuki of Japan on Strawweight, Thailand’s Anatpong Bunrad versus Reece McLaren from Australia for Flyweight, Zhao Zhi Kang of China versus Thai Rithy from Cambodia on Featherweight; and for the prelims from Philippines’ Gina Iniong versus Priscilla Lumbang Gaol from Indonesia on Atomweight, Joshua Pacio from Philippines versus Roy Doliguez from the Philippines as well on Strawweight, Xie Chao from China versus Keving Ong from Malaysia on Featherweight, and China’s Peng Xue Wen versus Phat Soda from Cambodia on Strawweight.
Thus, this much awaited fight between the Legends of the World of ONE Championship will be on November 10, 7 PM, at the Mall of Asia Arena.
