ONE Championship lightweight champion Eduard Folayang, a former school teacher, has vowed to teach challenger Ev Ting a neat fight lesson in the cage.
The 33-year-old ace of Team Lakay said it’s not easy to reach the top of the ONE pole and for Ting to become the champion, “I will give him a difficult final exam.”
Folayang will defend his ONE title for the first time against Ting on Friday at Mall of Asia Arena in an explosive card dubbed ONE: Kings of Destiny.
“We have arranged one of the best cards and this one will top the previous ones in terms of excitement and explosiveness,” said ONE Championship Vice President Loren Mack during the ONE press conference on Tuesday at the City of Dreams.
Ting (13-3) is riding on a four-win streak on the cage and has taken the scalp of not a few Filipino fighters, including Lakay teammate Honorio Banario.
And revenge is Folayang’s battlecry when they finally face off.
“Marami kang dadaanan bago makarating sa taas, at may final exam bago ka maging kampiyon. Ang mahirap nito yung teacher ay siya ding champion.” Of course, Folayang was just teasing the challenger.
Folayang, described by ONE Championship Vice President Loren Mack as the “nicest person around,” is typically a silent, soft-spoken type who would rather let his fists and kicks do the talking.”
“Seriously, alam naman natin na malakas at all-around fighter si Ev. Magandang laban ito and may the best fighter wins,” said Folayang, who won the title with a KO win over Japanese warrior Shinya Aoki in Kuala Lumpur.
Ting could only agree.
“Everything about Eduard is good. We’re both well-rounded fighters and we both want to own the cage. So expect a dogfight,” said Ting, a New Zealander of Malaysian descent.
Another Lakay fighter, Gina Iniong, wants to make a name for herself on the cage as she faces Fil-Briton Natalie Gonzales Hills in the women’s atomweight bout.
Serving as the main supporting bout is the tussle between Malaysia’s rising star Christian “The Warrior” Lee and Wan “The Werewolf” Jian Ping of China.