Eduard “Landslide” Folayang is by no means taking Amir Khan lightly.
Ahead of the two-time ONE Lightweight World Champion’s return fight at ONE Fight Night 14: Stamp vs. Ham on September 30 at Singapore Indoor Stadium, he assured that he’s far from being overconfident and understands how serious he has to prepare for this rematch.
“Of course, di naman natin minamaliit ‘yung talent niya,” said the Filipino mixed martial arts legend.
It’s easy to look at Folayang as being the favored one in this clash.
After all, he already owns a win against Khan, earning a dominant unanimous decision win in their first tussle at ONE: Conquest of Champions back in 2018 where he reclaimed the ONE Lightweight World Championship.
Yet Folayang would be the first to acknowledge that Khan, too, has undergone multitudes of changes in his life, the same way that he did since they first crossed paths.
“Looking at him sa mga previous fights niya, nakikita ko ‘yung pagbabago sa galaw niya. His mental aspect, nag-iba na rin kasi nagkapamilya na siya so there’s maturity sa emotional aspect sa kagustuhan niya sa pag-achieve ng goals niya,” he said.
Khan has been inconsistent in his last six fights, trading wins and losses including his last defeat against Keanu Subba at ONE 16: Ok vs Lee II in August last year.
But that only makes this match more dangerous for Folayang, knowing that Khan would come to the fight with nothing to lose and everything to gain.
And it only motivates Landslide to be at his best.
“Ako rin naman, ‘di ako nagre-relax,” he stated. “We’re preparing well and I know he’ll be doing a lot in this upcoming fight so we’re not taking him lightly.”
