ni Gerard Peter - @Sports | June 27, 2021
Sa kabila ng mga magkakasunod na pagkabigo sa nagdaang tatlong sunod na laban, buhay pa rin ang pag-asa ni dating two-time ONE Championship lightweight champion Eduard “Landslide” Folayang na kaya pa rin nitong makipagsabayan sa kahit anong pagsubok higit na ang pag-aasam na makatapat ang isang katunggali na hindi pa niya nasusubukan.
Puntiryang makatapat ng 36-anyos na Baguio-native si dating 2002 Asian Games judo champion Yoshihiro “Sexyama” Akiyama upang subukin pa rin ang sarili na makabakbakan ang mga mahuhusay na mixed martial artists sa buong mundo.
Napurnada ang dapat na pagtatapat nina Folayang (22-11, 6KOs, 2 Subs) at Akiyama (15-7, 6KOs, 7Subs) sa ONE on TNT IV, ngunit nagtramo ng injury ang Japanese-Korean fighter sa kasagsagan ng kanyang paghahanda na naging dahilan ng pagpapaliban ng kanilang laban.
“If given the chance to face him, of course, I’d want to test him. I haven’t faced him before and I want to see how I fare against him,” wika ni Folayang. “Maybe in the proper time, maybe we’ll cross paths, and it will be an honor to finally face him,” ani Folayang na nagbiro pang siya ang hihiranging “sexier man” matapos ang kanilang laban.
Inamin ng three-time Southeast Asian Games wushu gold medalist na magsisilbing daan patungo sa kanyang malakas na pagbabalik sa dibisyon kung sakaling magtatagumpay sa 45-anyos mula Osaka, Japan.
Sinabi rin nitong mahaba ang tatahakin nitong landas upang makakuha itong muli ng tsansa na maging challenger sa ONE lightweight title ni Christian “The Warrior” Lee, na patuloy nitong pinapangarap muli na makamit upang maging isa sa mga ‘greatest comeback’ sa kasaysayan ng ONE Championship. “It’s still the champion. I still want to test myself against him in the future. I know that I am not in the position to call him out now, but still my eyes are on him,” saad ni Folayang. “I’ve seen how much Christian Lee has improved and grown through the years. I’m really impressed with how easily he transitioned from featherweight to lightweight, and from the tough opposition that he’s faced, he showed what he can truly do.”
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