Former two-time ONE Lightweight MMA World Champion Eduard Folayang analyzed his stablemate Jeremy Pacatiw’s chances of winning ahead of the #5-ranked bantamweight MMA contender’s return to ONE Championship.
Pacatiw’s comeback happens this Saturday morning, March 8, when he takes on #4-ranked Enkh-Orgil Baatarkhuu in a three-round bantamweight MMA bout at ONE Fight Night 29: Rodrigues vs. McManamon inside Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
For Folayang, he expects two savvy fighters to clash, meaning there’s really no room for mistakes. Either of them could simply capitalize on the other’s mishaps.
“This will be a good match for both fighters, two truly seasoned fighters,” he said.
Folayang expects the rugged Mongolian fighter’s confidence to shine, especially due to his mastery of Filipinos over the course of his ONE career.
Baatarkhuu opened his promotional account with back-to-back wins against Adonis Sevilleno and Rockie Bactol. But it was his consecutive submission victories over promising rising stars in Team Lakay’s Jhanlo Sangiao and Carlo Bumina-ang that branded him the “Filipino Finisher.”
A confident fighter is always dangerous to face according to Folayang, but they’re also subject to complacency. So he’s confident that Pacatiw can make Baatarkhuu pay if the Mongolian gets overconfident.
“The only advantage that he has over him is confidence because he’s beaten a lot of Filipinos, and I expect him to come out really confident thinking that this is just another Filipino he can beat,” Folayang said.
“Jeremy can turn that to his advantage if Baatarkhuu gets overconfident and he forgets that Jeremy can finish him off as well,” he added.
“It’s going to depend on execution and who has truly prepared better in this match.”
At the end of the day, Folayang mentioned that his team has done a great job preparing a winning strategy for Pacatiw, and that if he sticks follows it, “Landslide” has no doubt the 28-year-old can take his third straight win in the promotion.
“It’s all about implementing the game plan for Jeremy,” he said. “I believe in Jeremy, and I know that he can beat Baatarkhuu.”
The Lions Nation MMA founder, on the other hand, won’t be joining his teammate in Thailand. He’ll stay in Baguio to prepare for his own upcoming fight in less than three weeks from now at ONE 172: Takeru vs. Rodtang on March 23.
There, Folayang battles old rival Shinya Aoki in a match between two lightweight greats looking for a strong finish to their respective legendary careers.
