After another disappointing night in the ONE Championship ring, former ONE Lightweight World Champion Eduard “Landslide” Folayang is mapping out his next steps.
The face of Philippine martial arts lost to American star Eddie “The Underground King” Alvarez by rear-naked choke in round one of their ONE Lightweight World Grand Prix semifinals match at ONE: DAWN OF HEROES.
It was Folayang’s second-straight submission loss, but it was more heartbreaking because “Landslide” looked close to finishing Alvarez early on.
“One lesson that I learned in this fight is to not rush things, even if there’s a huge opening. It’s all about working on that mentality,” Folayang said.
Folayang started the match with fearless onslaught as he threw kicks and punches at his American opponent from different angles. A leg kick dropped Alvarez, much to the delight of the partisan Folayang crowd, and the Filipino star followed it up with a barrage of punches.
But the match quickly turned in the favor of “The Underground King” as he swept Folayang and took his back. The end came at the 2:16 mark of the match when Alvarez secured the Filipino’s neck prompting the latter to tap.
“I was overeager. I lost my calmness knowing that he’s hurt and that it’s the first round and I have the energy to pour it in. I lost my position and he capitalized,” Folayang said.
“I got overwhelmed, and I was a bit overconfident when I had him hurt. I went for the kill but I wasn’t able to control myself.”
Learning his lessons the hard way, Folayang vows to take things in stride and prepare himself for a better comeback.
“I guess that happens. No matter how hard you prepare for things, it could still collapse with the wrong mindset – like myself, I was taken away with my emotions,” Folayang shared.
“I’m just observing the situation now. I feel like I can still fight before the year ends. I’ve learned and of course I’ll do everything to bounce back.”
He also hopes to get one more crack at “The Underground King,” knowing that they still have unfinished business.
“I believe that we’ll face each other again. We don’t know when, but I’m confident that it will happen,” Folayang said.
“I heard they’re considering doing fights in the US. I hope we’ll meet there.”