Honorio Banario celebrates after his knockout win over Jaroslav Jartim. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/ INQUIRER.net
With Eduard Folayang and Honorio Banario both seeing success in ONE Championship’s lightweight division, one could not help but think if the Team Lakay stablemates are bound for a collision course.
But if Banario would have it his way, he would rather not face his Baguio brethren.
“I have been asked about that fight against Eduard since last year, but for me, why would I fight my family? He’s my brother and If I fight him, there will be a gap, a wall between us,” he said in Filipino.
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Folayang, the ONE Lightweight Champion, is coming off a successful first title defense against Ev Ting at ONE: Kings of Destiny on Friday, while Banario is on a streak of four straight wins, with his last coming in a stunning first round knockout of Jaroslav Jartim.
Though there is the urge to once again hold the belt, the former ONE Featherweight Champion said that he’s willing to wait for his time and be on Folayang’s side, supporting his fellow Igorot taste success at the top of the mountain.
“For me, I’d just wait for my time to come. I’m happy for Eduard and for him to hold the belt for a long time. I already knew how I feels to be a champion. All I want right now is to continue winning. My time will come when I’ll be able to hold that belt too and become a two-division champion,” he said.
READ: Folayang successfully defends ONE Lightweight title
However, ONE Championship CEO Victor Cui said that a possible Folayang-Banario clash couldn’t be stopped given their status as top contenders in the ONE lightweight division.
“That’s a challenge you see in mixed martial arts quite a lot, two guys from the same camp. That’s something that they have to work on,” he said. “For me, I want to put together the most exciting fights for the fans and top ranked contenders that deserve a title shot fighting. That’s what we’ll continue to do.”