Inspired by the presence of boxing icon and Sen. Manny Pacquiao, Eduard “The Landslide” Folayang led the charge of Filipino mixed martial arts fighters by beating their foreign rivals in the ONE: Kings of Destiny Friday night at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
A wushu practitioner, Folayang came through lightning quick and powerful spinning attacks to hack out a unanimous decision over Malaysian Ev Ting to retain his ONE lightweight title with Pacquiao watching from ringside.
Pacquiao, who is reportedly a shareholder of ONE, even presented the belt to Folayang right after the fight.
“I would like to thank Ev Ting, he really came prepared for this fight. We came to give the fans a good fight, and that’s what we have done,” said Folayang.
Also winning their matchess were Folayang’s Team Lakay stablemate Kevin Belingon, Honorio Banario and Danny Kingad.
Belingon beat Finnish kickboxing sensation Toni “Dynamite” Tauru by submission, same decision hacked out by Banario over Czdec Jaroslav Jartim, while Kingad out-muscled Malaysian opponent Muhammad Aiman.
Team Lakay lady striker Gina “Conviction” Iniong made her successful debut, besting Filipino-English fighter Natalie “The Kilapino” Gonzales Hills with a solid display of striking superiority.