Although Eduard Folayang has been with ONE Championship since its inception in 2011, it marks the first time that he will be in the top bill of the organization’s live event in the Philippines.
With ten marquee matchups slated on the card, ONE: KINGS OF DESTINY takes place at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Manila, Philippines on April 21. Folayang, who is universally recognized as the face of the Philippine MMA scene, has previously headlined two events under the ONE Championship banner.
The popular Team Lakay representative competed in the headliner of ONE Championship’s inaugural card, where he notched a unanimous decision victory over Korean veteran A-Sol Kwon.
Five years later, Folayang found himself in the same position when he challenged Japanese MMA legend Shinya “Tobikan Judan” Aoki for the ONE Lightweight World Championship title in the main event of ONE: DEFENDING HONOR.
Folayang dethroned Aoki for the gold-plated belt by way of third-round technical knockout, driving a hard knee to the head before unleashing a barrage of punches to coerce the referee to wave it off.
In the first defense of his coveted lightweight strap, Folayang has been booked in the principal attraction of ONE: KINGS OF DESTINY, squaring off against a topnotch challenger in Ting. Folayang stressed that he considers it as a privilege to be in the main event of the tenth ONE Championship card in the Philippines.
Folayang admitted that he is so motivated for his upcoming title defense as he will be fighting in front of a partisan Manila crowd for the first time in nearly three years.
The man known as “Landlside” realizes that to be successful against Ting, he has to make sure he comes in at his absolute best. With Ting recently making the move up from featherweight to lightweight, Folayang believes that his extra experience in the weight class will give him the advantage.
