Eduard Folayang Is One FC’s Rising Star

When you hear the words ‘top prospects in MMA’ you don’t have to look too far down the upcoming One FC card to find a fighter that defines that role in Asian MMA.

Eduard Folayang, who currently carries an impressive 11-1 record, is considered one of the best fighters to develop in Asia over the last several years.

Fighting out of the Philippines, Folayang has reeled off six straight victories and at this weekend’s One FC show in Singapore, he’ll be able to wrap up some business more than six months in the making.

When One FC first emerged in 2011, Folayang was matched up with Ole Laursen for the main event of the inaugural show. Unfortunately, Laursen suffered a training injury and had to drop out of the event.

Folayang went on to defeat A Sol Kwon instead, and now coming up at this weekend’s third ever One FC event, he’ll finally get the fight with Ole Laursen, although it wasn’t something he was exactly gunning for.

“I didn’t hope for this fight but here it is,” Folayang told MMAWeekly.com. “Ole is my friend and you never want to fight your friend but it is not up to me to choose who I fight. We have been working with Victor Cui since 2010 when he started Martial Combat and he picks my opponents and I have fought for him four times and it has never been a bad fight.

“Victor was recently voted the most powerful man in Asian MMA. If he wants me to fight Ole then I will fight Ole.”

As he approaches the fight looking for his seventh straight victory, Folayang is happy with his progression and evolution in MMA, and he hopes to continue that in 2012 with One FC behind him.

“I am happy with my progress but there’s still a lot of improvement to come. I train every day with coach Mark Sangiao at Team Lakay in Baguio and I am improving all the time but there is still a long way to go,” said Folayang.

The support and growth of One FC has been a big part in Folayang finally getting the recognition all over the world, but especially in and around Asia. The marketing machine at One FC has continued to roll and with it Folayang has turned into a name everyone is watching.

“The people here welcome the One FC as one of the major promotions here in Asia because of the good fights and show the promotion had been bringing. They have the chance to watch it now on the ESPN and it helps a lot to promote this sport not only here in the Philippines but in the whole of Asia,” Folayang stated.

“All the newspapers in the Philippines have been writing about it and I always get journalists ringing me up and wanting to interview me but it is difficult because I am very busy with my training. Now that my fight with A Sol Kwon is showing on ESPN all the time I often get messages and phone calls from people who say they are watching me on TV.”

With another big fight coming up in Singapore and One FC landing new TV deals almost on a weekly basis, Folayang might have to get used to his phone ringing a lot in the coming months.

The guaranteed way to do insure that is to beat Ole Laursen in Singapore, and then Folayang’s star on the rise will continue rocketing towards the atmosphere.

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