MANILA, Philippines -- Before Eduard Folayang rose to prominence as one of the country's best MMA fighters, he guided some of the nation's youth as a high school teacher.

As the country celebrates National Teachers' Day on October 5, Folayang is calling for greater support for the country's educators.
Education is one of the most important pillars in society yet teachers are among the lowest-paid workers in the entire country.

Folayang is well aware of the sacrifices teachers have to make in order to do their job, and he believes they deserve more support and help to ensure that they can be successful.

"We need to take care of our teachers, because they have a very important role," said Folayang, a former two-time ONE lightweight world champion.

"They take care of our children when we are not able to. They teach them how to be adults. This Teachers' Day, let's celebrate our teachers," he said.

"I think all work has its own unique set of challenges. But as teachers, it's such a worthy sacrifice. Youth is very important in our society. They will go on to be leaders of our country in their own ways. It's important that they be brought up with the right values and the right character."

In looking back to his time as an educator, Folayang recalls how he felt a sense of achievement whenever he saw his students doing well.

"When you touch the lives of your students, even in the simplest ways, that was the most fulfilling for me, back when I was still teaching in school," he said.

"It's such an honorable profession, even if it's not easy by any means. Being a teacher is hard, but we still do it with a passion because we want our kids to succeed," he added.

Folayang found great success at ONE Championship, reaching the pinnacle of the sport in 2016 when he stopped Japanese legend Shinya Aoki to win the lightweight belt for the first time. He won the title for the second time in 2018 by beating Amir Khan.

While he has stepped away from the classroom and into the ring, Folayang believes he never truly left his role as an educator.

"In some ways, I'm still very much a teacher," he said. "Now, I teach the younger generation of martial artists and help them navigate our industry."