EDUARD Folayang feels he has unfinished business with Eddie Alvarez.
The two squared off at “ONE: Dawn of Heroes” with Mr. Alvarez taking the first-round submission win in front of a stunned Filipino crowd in August of 2019.
It was a match that perfectly displayed the strengths of the two fighters with Mr. Folayang raining down menacing strikes on the feet and Mr. Alvarez swooping in with his grappling.
Mr. Folayang said a rematch between him and Mr. Alvarez is indeed an intriguing prospect and he hopes that a second meeting between them could eventually happen sooner than later.
Mr. Folayang had the Mall of Asia crowd rocking in the first minute of the fight when he landed a brutal leg kick that sent the former Bellator and UFC lightweight champion to the mat.
Taking advantage of his downed opponent, Mr. Folayang proceeded to land a hellacious ground-and-pound on Mr. Alvarez.
Despite Mr. Folayang’s aggression, “The Underground King” managed to survive and eventually took top position. Mr. Alvarez then took Mr. Folayang’s back and slapped in a tight rear-naked choke to take the submission win 2:16 into the fight.
Mr. Folayang admitted that he made mistakes in his first fight against Mr. Alvarez, nevertheless, the former ONE Lightweight World Champion is eager to erase his errors.
The 38-year-old added he needs to undergo an intense training camp, harder than his previous ones if he eventually gets his rematch against the American legend.
ONE Championship returns this July 22 with the stacked “ONE 159: De Ridder vs. Bigdash” which will be broadcast live from the Singapore Indoor Stadium.
Just like any other fight fan, Mr. Folayang will be tuned in to ONE 159 especially with two title fights in the card.
Reinier de Ridder will defend the ONE Middleweight World Championship against former champion Vitaly Bigdash in the main event.
Striking superstars Janet Todd, the reigning ONE Atomweight Kickboxing World Champion, and Lara Fernandez will duke it out for the ONE Interim Atomweight Muay Thai World Title in the co-main event.
