After four years as one of the faces of ONE Championship’s lightweight division, two-time champion Eduard Folayang is in the midst of a turbulent time, having lost four of his last five. He is fully aware things need to change, and specifically in his grappling. His weaknesses there were root causes for recent losses to Shinya Aoki, Eddie Alvarez, and Tony Caruso. It’s why he heads into his ONE on TNT IV trilogy fight with Aoki, looking to end his two-fight losing streak by embracing grappling like never before.
Embrace the mat game or lose again
“For this [fight] I really need to embrace this other part of mixed martial arts. The wrestling and ground fighting. If I don’t embrace that, the chances for me to win is very limited because a lot of great fighters are really mixing it up well,” Folayang told MixedMartialArts. “I need to embrace the other aspects of the sport. That’s the thing I didn’t do in the past, in my fight with Eddie and my fight with Caruso. I just really wanted to put the fight in the striking department. I think that’s the biggest mistake I’ve made so far in this sport.”
It’s a surprising admission this far in the 14-year veteran’s career. Yet, it’s somewhat understandable. For much of his run in ONE Championship, the multi-time Wushu champion was able to overcome any deficiencies in grappling by way of his overwhelming gifts as a striker. He won his first lightweight title in a major upset over Aoki, in just his third year with the promotion. Up until their rematch in 2019, he won nine of 12 fights in ONE Championship and had become a sports superstar at home in the Philippines, based on his striking abilities.
Evolution from within
However, this sport is constantly evolving and fighters must evolve right along with it. Sometimes it is a hard lesson to learn after a great deal of success. It’s taken Folayang quite a few losses to realize the training practices that worked before don’t anymore. His submission losses to Alvarez and Aoki (in their title rematch), and a recent unanimous decision loss to Caruso have made it obvious that his grappling vulnerabilities were not isolated incidences and a troubling trend. Now, with another fight against Aoki (a legendary MMA grappler) on the horizon, the mission is clear. Change up the training routine and dedicate more focus to grappling or else.
“For me to embrace the ground, it’s to understand the principles of it. When you wrestle, you really need to put a lot of energy on it. And you can see how Khabib [Nurmagomedov] dominates his opponents. He gasses them out and out wrestles them. So if I cannot see how important that aspect is in the sport, and not devote a lot of my time [to it], then for sure a lot of my opponents will see that as a hole in me, and they will always go and [take advantage] of that,” Folayang says. “Even in the short-notice I really put a lot of my time [in it] as a very important aspect of the game.”
Part of making adjustments in training could suggest a switch away from his fight camp home base at Team Lakay. It is a common practice by many fighters looking to change a losing pattern. However, “Landslide” does not see an issue in what his longtime gym offers in training. To him, the transition back to winning must start from within.
“I think it’s more on me. It’s not about my team. It’s the mindset that causes a lot of my failures,” said Folayang. “I’m thankful to my team because they are still there backing me up despite those losses. They are motivating me to keep pushing forward. I think it’s really; I need a mental change to see things in a different perspective. I realized that even when I change teams, it makes no difference if I don’t change myself.”
Folayang on retirement: ‘I think a loss will not be the greatest factor for me to hang up my gloves’
Originally, the plan was for the 36-year-old to face off with Ultimate Fighting Championship and K-1 veteran Yoshihiro Akiyama. However, when that fight never materialized, and Aoki lost his planned opponent in Sage Northcutt, the long-time rivals were paired up for an impromptu trilogy bout on a couple of weeks’ notice.
One win won’t make up the ground he’s lost over the last two years, or propel him back into title contention, but he concedes that a second win over Aoki would be a major achievement in his 32-fight career. However, while one victory won’t make up for his recent setbacks, he also admits a fifth loss in six fights will not push him towards retirement. The native of Baguio is nowhere ready to ponder those thoughts just yet.
“As long as I have the passion to do what I love to do, I think a loss will not be the greatest factor for me to hang up my gloves,” Folayang said. “I know there’s still a fire within me, and as long as I know the fire is there it doesn’t matter how many times I fail. What’s important is I will not give up and still push to what I want to do in life.”
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