Folayang Wants Rematch With Iranian Grappler
August 18, 2013Eduard Folayang (right) battles Kamal Shalorus in One FC: Rise to Power. AFP FILE PHOTO
Top Filipino mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter Eduard “The Landslide” Folayang is seeking a rematch against seasoned Iranian grappler Kamal “The Prince of Persia” Shalorus in One Fighting Championship (FC).
Folayang is trying to revive his MMA career that suffered two back-to-back defeats since December.
“I want a rematch,” the former sanshou [wushu contact fighting champion] Folayang (12-4 win-loss record) told The Manila Times in a phone interview. “If given an opportunity, I will grab that opporstunity and start training hard to avenge my loss. I’m also hoping to have two more fights within this year.”
Meanwhile, Universal Reality Combat Championship (URCC) founder Alvin Aguilar said that Folayang should concentrate on fixing his weaknesses if he wants to bounce back from his defeats.
“Eduard isn’t already past his prime yet but he must follow a program. Well, if not, he’s through. I know his potential and weaknesses; if he does not work on his weaknesses then his career is over. But if he does, his heart is so huge that he will retire as one of the greats” Aguilar told the Times via text message.”
Folayang also absorbed a devastating technical knockout loss from Lowen Tynanes in URCC 22: Dekada in December 2012. The 40-year old Shalorus (8-3-2 record) defeated the Filipino via unanimous decision in One FC: Rise to Power at the Mall of Asia Arena in May.
Folayang, 28, said that he has no plans of returning to the United States to seek additional MMA training, “I’m not thinking of any overseas training so far. My training continues at the Team Lakay gym,” he said, concluding, “I want to concentrate more on my conditioning because during the bout [with Shalorus], I felt so heavy but there was no excuse for that.”
Josef T. Ramos