Team Lakay bet Eduard Folayang. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines—Eduard Folayang believes he will be facing a different Eddie Alvarez in their lightweight showdown on Friday night.
Folayang was on the same card in Tokyo, Japan where Alvarez was stopped in the second round of his ONE Championship debut at the hands of Timofey Nastyukhin.
The Team Lakay star, however, is expecting the real Alvarez to show up in one of the most anticipated bouts in a star-studded ONE: Dawn of Heroes card.
“I’m not expecting him (Alvarez) to be loose. He was too complacent in his first fight, but now that he experienced how tough it is to compete against ONE Championship athletes for sure, he prepared well for this fight,” Folayang said Tuesday.
Folayang, the two-time lightweight titleholder, is also coming off a loss to Shinya Aoki in their title rematch.
And with a duel against Alvarez, who is a legend in the sport, as his chance to get himself back into title contention, he has more motivation to not only win but do it in fabulous form.
“There’s excitement especially when I’m going up against a high-profile fighter but at the same time, it’s also important for me to get my emotions in check because it’s not only a physical game but a mental and spiritual.”