Folayang braces for well-prepared Alvarez in ONE World Grand Prix clash

MANILA, Philippines — Both Eduard Folayang and Eddie Alvarez will be coming from a loss when they face each other in ONE: Dawn of Heroes on Friday.

Folayang had suffered a major setback against Shinya Aoki last March in Tokyo, losing his lightweight belt to the Japanese fighter.

For his part, Alvarez lost via TKO in his ONE Championship debut against Timofey Nastyukhin.

With both fighters raring to get back on their feet, Folayang isn't expecting an easy task come Friday.

"Hindi ko ineexpect na magiging loose siya (Alvarez) dito," the Baguio native said to media on Tuesday.

He said that Alvarez may have been a bit too confident going into his first match with ONE Championship. 

But after the loss, Folayang says, Alvarez has learned his lesson.

"This time I know na naramdaman niya kung paano makipagcompete sa mga ONE Championship athletes and for sure, he prepared well for this fight," Folayang said.

Folayang and Alvarez will clash in the ONE Lightweight World Grand Prix semifinals.

The winner of this fight will meet Saygid Guseyn Arslanaliev in the Grand Prix finals.