Lions Nation MMA members and former ONE World Champions Eduard “Landslide” Folayang and Honorio “The Rock” Banario shed light on the possibility of competing against their former Team Lakay brethren, and they revealed that they have no issues with the idea.
Their former squad has always presented itself as this ideal, tight-knit stable that values loyalty and respect above all things.
But with several ex-Team Lakay guys on Folayang’s squad now, the two-time ONE Lightweight World Champion said it’s inevitable that one day the two camps will meet in the ring.
“The way I see it, I don’t have anyone on that side who’s in my weight class. [But] that’s just the nature of the sport. Sometimes, you can’t avoid that,” he said.
“It’s a different team now, a different setting, so we always respect the main law of fighting: you really can’t avoid that possibility. We are always happy to accept challenges.”
Unlike Folayang, Banario could meet someone from his former camp should he continue fighting in the featherweight division.
One of Team Lakay’s young rising stars is Carlos Alvarez, who made a victorious ONE debut at Friday Fights 13 over Reza Abasi, and he’s competing in the featherweight division.
While Banario has no animosity over his former team, he understands that this is part of their chosen sport.
“We can’t avoid it because if I have someone from our former side who’s in my division, we have to fight. That’s my job. I am hoping for any challenge to come my way. We’re just fighting,” he said.
While the move certainly raised a lot of eyebrows, Folayang believes that starting a team of his own is for the best and will only make him and his teammates better moving forward.
“I’ve been thinking about creating my own gym [for quite some time] actually – a place for us to have our own facilities. You have free reign to implement what training program you want to use and see what weaknesses you need to work on,” he said.
“It’s easier than joining another stable where you have to have that adjustment period instead of being able to change things immediately because you’re still just an athlete and a member of that team.”
