Despite his recent struggles, Eduard “Landslide” Folayang remains defiant, knowing that his current situation wouldn’t last forever.
Looking ahead in the future, he wants to continue to test himself against the very best, and it starts with someone that he was initially scheduled to face in the past.
Folayang remains open in facing Yoshihiro “Sexyama” Akiyama who he was supposed to face at ONE on TNT IV before the Japanese-Korean star sustained an injury in training, cancelling the match altogether.
It’s a match that still remains in Folayang's crosshairs.
“If given the chance to face him, of course, I’d want to test him. I haven’t faced him before and I want to see how I fare against him,” Folayang said.
“Maybe in the proper time, maybe we’ll cross paths, and it will be an honor to finally face him.”
Given the chance to push through with that match, Folayang jokingly said that he’s gonna come out the prettier man between the two after their encounter.
“If that happens, I know I’ll be the sexier man after that match.”
But facing Akiyama is only the first step in his goal of his returning back to the pinnacle of the division.
He knows that he has a long way to go before he gets a shot at ONE Lightweight World Champion Christian “The Warrior” Lee, but that doesn’t stop Folayang from dreaming big and targeting what would be the greatest comeback in ONE history.
“It’s still the champion. I still want to test myself against him in the future. I know that I am not in the position to call him out now, but still my eyes are on him,” Folayang said.
“I’ve seen how much Christian Lee has improved and grown through the years. I’m really impressed with how easily he transitioned from featherweight to lightweight, and from the tough opposition that he’s faced, he showed what he can truly do.”