Folayang: Vietnamese opponent timed me well

Filipino mixed martial arts star Eduard Folayang admitted he committed a big mistake when he fought Vietnamese champion Martin Nguyen, one that cost him the ONE lightweight title back in November.

“Timing and execution. On that area niya ako nakuha, sa timing at execution,” said Folayang at the sidelines of the press conference for ONE: Global Superheroes.

“Landslide” was referring to Nguyen’s well-timed overhand right that connected on Folayang’s jaw. He got caught with the shot just when he was about to unleash a spinning back kick against Nguyen.

The overhand right knocked him out cold in the second round.

Ironically, Folayang dominated Nguyen in the first round of their crossover match. Nguyen now enjoys the distinction of being the current featherweight and lightweight champion.

• MMA: Folayang keeps positive mindset after shocking setback

The loss was painful of course, but Folayang has decided to move on and learn from his mistakes.

“Hindi mo na maibabalik ‘yung nangyari kasi tapos na ‘yun,” he said. “The best thing to do is to keep improving para ‘pag nagkaroon ulit ng opportunity, I'll do better.”

Folayang said that while waiting for his next fight, he returned to training to refine the things he needed to work on.

“So the best thing to do is to be accurate in both timing and execution. That was my weakness, I’m now working to make it my advantage,” he said.

Folayang was chosen together with fellow MMA stars Brandon Vera and Angela Lee to become Global Citizen’s ambassadors.

He hopes that through martial arts, the younger generation will learn the values of integrity, humility, honor, respect and discipline.

“Magandang ibahagi ito sa ating mga kababayan, lalo na ang importansya ng edukasyon. Alam natin susi ang edukasyon para mabawasan ang kahirapan,” said Folayang, who is also a former high school teacher.

Global Citizen is a non-government organization working to eradicate extreme poverty by 2030, has recently partnered with ONE Championship.

Wei Soo, co-founder and managing director of Global Citizen, said that they hope that by partnering with ONE Championship and their stars, they would be able to inspire the younger generation.

“ONE Championship reaches millions of young people around the region and together we will engage them on issues that impact the entire world,” said Soo.

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