Photo by Tristan Tamayo/ INQUIRER.net
With a capacity crowd chanting his name in unison, Eduard Folayang basked in the glory of his success in the main event of ONE: Kings of Destiny at Mall of Asia Arena.
And he had every right to do so. After all, he earned this moment after waiting for almost two and a half years.
“A lot of people were discouraged and doubted me after my loss,” the Igorot champion said, reflecting on his devastating loss to Timofey Nastyukhin back in 2014. “Many thought that my career was done and it would be hard for me to rise up.”
But Folayang rose and exceeded expectations, building his reputation anew before claiming his rightful throne as the ONE Lightweight Champion.
And in his first fight on the same venue where he suffered the worst loss of his career, the 33-year-old picked up the pieces and delivered a performance to remember, dominating Ev Ting in a unanimous decision victory for his first title defense last Friday.
“The feeling is so sweet. I rose up and learned a lot from that loss. I’m a martial artist and as a martial artist, you need to conquer everything you faced in the past. You need to be persistent, pick yourself up, and wait for your time,” he said.
Asked what he felt of the loud “Folayang” chants, the Baguio native could only answer in jest.
“It’s like I had lots of people chasing me for debts,” he said, eliciting laughs from the packed press room. “In a sense, I felt I needed to give back to the people you’ve been with. It’s not about gaining glory for your own, but giving back to the people who supported you.”
That’s what made Folayang’s triumph in his home country much more special.