SINGAPORE—Filipino fighter Eduard Folayang, bloodied and bruised, hammered out a unanimous decision win over South Korea’s A Sol Kwon in the main event of the One Fighting Championship Saturday night at the Singapore Indoor Stadium here.
The aggressive Folayang bucked a broken nose and a cut over his right eye to punish Kwon with punching combinations and inside leg kicks in the final two rounds to rule the lightweight bout in front of a sellout international crowd of 7,000.
“I needed to fight; even though I was hurt, I knew I could win every round,” Folayang, a national wushu team mainstay, said after improving his MMA fight record to 10-1.
Eric Kelly, the only other Filipino fighter in the inaugural event featuring 20 mixed martial artists from 11 countries, also proved a sensation in his international debut as a featherweight.
Kelly put away American Mitch Chilson by submission at the 3:10 mark of the opening round.
A Baguio native just like Folayang, Kelly remained unbeaten in six fights while pinning on Chilson his first loss in three bouts.
“I just focused on my opponent,” said Kelly, who took down the favored Chilson with a rear naked choke.
“I never have a game plan going into a fight. I always just find a way to win when I am inside the cage, and fortunately, that is what happened tonight.”
Folayang, who’s also the reigning welterweight champion in the Universal Reality Combat Championship (URCC), pocketed a $5,000 bonus.
But the 26-year-old Folayang admitted that the prize came with a lot of pain.
Blood streaked down Folayang’s face from an open wound over his right eye and a broken nose due to Kwon’s counter strikes in the opening round. He also suffered a cut at the back of his head aside from sustaining bruises on his face.
“I was blessed to win,” said Folayang, who snapped the six-fight win streak of Kwon (19-7), a Heat FC champion and one of Korea’s top fighters.
Kelly also earned a $5,000 bonus for his quick win.
Other results: Japan’s Yoshiyuki Yoshida defeated USA’s Phil Baroni (unanimous decision, welter); Brazil’s Gregor Gracie beat Korea’s Seak Mo Kim (unanimous decision, welter); Brazil’s Zorobabel Moreira prevailed over Taiwan’s Andy Wang (TKO R2, welter).
In the undercard: Hong Kong’s Eddig Ng defeated China’s Yuan Chun Bo (KO R1, welter); Singapore’s Radeem Rahman beat India’s Susovan Ghosh (TKO R1, bantam); South Africa’s Vuyisile Colossa humbled China’s Ma Xing Yu (KO R1, light); Thailand’s Yodsanan Sor Nanthachai prevailed over Daniel Mashamaite (TKO R2, bantam); and Brazil’s Leandro Issa topped Korea’s So Chul Kim (unanimous decision, bantam).