Folayang unfazed despite latest defeat

Shinya Aoki celebrates his latest victory over Eduard Folayang. ONE CHAMPIONSHIP PHOTO

Eduard Folayang suffered yet another swift defeat at the hands of Shinya Aoki on Thursday’s ONE on TNT IV showpiece in Singapore.

But the Filipino striker is refusing to look at the first-round tapout as the end to his storied rivalry with arguably Japan’s finest grappler alive.

“This could go to a ‘Game 5,’ so relax, guys,” he said with a smile shortly after the defeat. “As long as Shinya and I are still here [in ONE Championship], we’re going to meet again,” he added.

Folayang looked mighty poised as soon as the opening bell rang, even managing to tag his foe with a crisp combination.

Aoki went on to unload some strikes himself in a bid to get into a clinch, before taking the fight to the ground, where Folayang’s doom started.

Unable to break loose, Folayang found himself on the receiving end, ironically, of a ground-and-pound before finally falling prey to an armbar.

“I believe that there will always be moments in our life where we’ll be in a tough situation,” said the Filipino striker, who suffered his third straight loss in and spiraled further away from the contender picture.

“However, that’s not a good reason to give up,” he went on. Shinya, who has been quite the eccentric character for most of his sterling career, had nothing but praise for Folayang. In fact, he’s seeing himself in Folayang.

“Five years ago, I lost to [Eduard],” he said with the help of a translator. “After that, I went through a struggle. I had a hard time but I was able to overcome that.”

“I think he’s facing that situation,” said Aoki, who now strung up four wins. “He’s losing a lot right now, but I hope he fights.”