Singapore One Fighting: Folayang faces Kwon

SINGAPORE—Prized Filipino fighter Eduard Folayang won’t give up on his national duties yet.

Despite his recent success in the more lucrative mixed martial arts, Folayang said he’s always more than ready to suit up for the Philippine wushu team.

“You always give back to your country and my own way is to play for the national team,” said Folayang. “As long as they need my service, I’m always willing to play.”

Folayang, who holds a 9-1 record (5 KOs), was slated to fight South Korea’s veteran A Sol Kwon (19-6) in the main event of the inaugural One Fighting Championship Saturday night at the Singapore Indoor Stadium here.

The anticipated lightweight bout was one of the 10 fights featuring some of the sport’s top draws, including the popular Phil Baroni of the United States, who returned to the welterweight division against Japan’s Yoshiyuki Yoshida.

With Folayang’s successful run in just five years in the MMA, the Southeast Asian Games wushu champion admits to liking his new sport more.

“You learn so many disciplines in the MMA, you don’t just stick to one sport,” said Folayang. “I also like it because it’s a player’s sport. Even if it looks like you’re about to lose, there’s always a chance of winning the fight.”

Folayang, a Baguio native who trains with the Lakay Wushu team, also hopes to be the first homegrown Filipino to make a mark in the world MMA stage. Most of the renowned Filipino fighters like Brandon Vera and Mark Muñoz were raised in the United States.

“I’m enjoying the MMA more now,” said the 26-year-old Folayang. “But I’ll still compete in wushu. In some ways, [the financial rewards] I get in the MMA also sustains my training allowance for the national team.”

Folayang hopes to pick up another gold in this November’s SEA Games, where he has dominated in the last two editions. He has also bagged a bronze in the 2005 World Wushu Championship aside from a silver (2006) and a bronze (2002) in the Asian Games.