MANILA, Philippines — For Filipino fighter Eduard Folayang, the greatest glory in life is when one rises each time he or she falls.
And Folayang will try to do just that after losing twice to Japanese Shinya Aoki and Ultimate Fighting Championship legend Eddie Alvarez when the former faces Pakistani Ahmed Mujtaba at ONE: Fire & Fury on Jan. 31 at the MOA Arena.
“The year 2019 has been an absolute roller-coaster ride for me,” said Folayang. “I started the year as champion but fell short to Shinya in Tokyo and Eddie Alvarez, losses that I learned a lot from even though it was tough to deal with.”
Folayang showed deep regret in his loss to Alvarez, a match he was winning in the early goings only to get unmasked by the latter’s world-class wrestling and submission skills.
The loss denied Folayang a spot in the ONE Lightweight Grand Prix Championship finale.
“Being able to face one of the best fighters (Alvarez) in the world, who is a former UFC and Bellator World Champion, it was a huge honor. I feel like I was winning that fight, and then one mistake and I’m on the losing end. I won’t make that same mistake again next time.”
Folayang needs to come up with inspiring performances that will catapult him back up the rankings.