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When Eduard Folayang had his second reign as ONE Lightweight World Champion ended in March at ONE: A NEW ERA by longtime rival Shinya Aoki, it appeared he might have had his last run as the king of his division. However, a stroke of misfortune in the careers of two of his peers has created a faster path back to championship glory.
At ONE: DAWN OF HEROES at Mall of Asia Arena in Manila, Philippines, the Filipino legend and Team Lakay staple will battle another legend in former multiple-time world champion Eddie Alvarez.
Because of injuries to Timofey Nastyukhin and Lowen Tynanes, Alvarez (who lost to Nastyukhin in March at ONE: A NEW ERA) finds himself back in the ONE Lightweight World Grand Prix. Those same injuries have pushed Folayang back into the same position.
When the Grand Prix began, Folayang was still champion, so he couldn't be included in the field. This turn of events has put him back in the mix.
Folayang has dealt with as many ups and downs as any championship athlete you'll come across. He has endured crushing losses like the ones to Jon Tuck early in his career. That match lasted only nine seconds before Folayang was knocked unconscious by a right hand.
In his second match with ONE Championship, back in March 2012 at ONE: WAR OF THE LIONS, Folayang was defeated by the legendary Ole Laursen.
Folayang endured the only losing streak of his career when he lost another stoppage to Tynanes and followed that up with a defeat at the hands of Kamal Shalorus.
He was then sensationally knocked out by Nastyukhin in December 2014 at ONE: WARRIORS WAY, and then again by Martin Nguyen in November 2017 at ONE: LEGENDS OF THE WORLD.
That loss cost him his first run as ONE Lightweight World Champion. The setback against Aoki, whom he'd beaten to win his first title back in November 2016 at ONE: DEFENDING HONOR is the most recent impediment Landslide is charged with overcoming.
Clearly, Folayang has had his high points too.
In addition to the win over Aoki, Folayang bested former champion Kotetsu Boku in May 2014 at ONE: RISE OF HEROES, Tetsuya Yamada in January 2016 at ONE: CLASH OF HEROES, Ev Ting in April 2017 at ONE: KINGS OF DESTINY and he won the vacant ONE Lightweight World Title with a unanimous-decision win over Amir Khan at ONE: CONQUEST OF CHAMPIONS in November 2018.
If Folayang can get past a hungry and determined Alvarez in Manila, he will find himself in the finals of the ONE Lightweight World Grand Prix.
The finals will not be an easy one, for whoever makes it. Saygid Guseyn Arslanaliev might be the scariest lightweight in the organization, and he has blasted his way through Khan and Ting to earn his spot in the last round. If Folayang can beat Arslanaliev, and at this point that might be considered an upset, he will win secure himself a title shot.
Currently, Christian Lee is the ONE Lightweight World Champion, but that could change by the time the ONE Lightweight World Grand Prix is done. If it doesn't, Folayang has the task laid before him, and for someone so resilient, you can never count him out.
