Eduard Folayang is still not ready to call it a career.
After suffering his fourth straight loss — the longest skid in his decorated 14-year career, the former ONE Lightweight Champion remains defiant, saying that he still has a lot of gas left in his tank.
“For now, I just want to thank ONE Championship. It’s been a decade and I’m still here,” said the 36-year-old Baguio-native, whose last win came from a technical decision win back on November of 2019.
“I know that it’s not yet over. There’s a lot of things to be showcased.”
The past two years have been really tough for Folayang.
To start 2020, he suffered a split decision loss to Pieter Buist on ONE: Fire & Fury. Nine months later, Folayang was dealt a lopsided decision loss at the hands of Tony Caruso that further dropped him in the standings.
In his trilogy bout against fellow ex-champion Shinya Aoki last April, Folayang was blasted by the Japanese icon as he tapped to an armbar in the very first round.
Then came his loss to Zhang Lipeng, Friday evening during ONE: Battleground II.
Photo from ONEFC.com
Against the 31-year-old native of Beijing, Folayang was on his back most of the time as he had no answers for the grappling of Zhang. Though Folayang had success on the feet, he was not able to throw significant shots that would have swayed the judges’ decision.
Photo from ONEFC.com
Still, Folayang is grateful to Team Lakay and his family for not giving up on him.
“I’m thankful to my team, especially my coach, my family, and God who are always there to support me in this endeavor. I know, it’s really tough,” he expressed.
“It’s painful to be in this situation but I know that my dream is much bigger than this failure.”
Folayang’s record now stands at 22-12 with six of his losses coming in a span of two years.
But for Folayang, his ledger is nothing more than just numbers as he fights for something much bigger than him.
“It’s been tough but I know that the best is reserved to those who persevere and hold on to their dreams.”
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