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Eduard “Landslide” Folayang has faced tough opponents one after the other in the span of his more than a decade-long professional career. But late last year, ONE Championship signed an athlete who Folayang dreams of challenging, and that is Eddie “The Underground King” Alvarez.
Alvarez is part of one of the biggest signings that ONE Championship announced in 2018, with Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson and “Super” Sage Northcutt being the other two. For the reigning ONE Lightweight World Champion, it would be a dream come true to measure himself against the four-time Lightweight World Champion Alvarez.
“I have my sights on Eddie Alvarez,” Folayang revealed.
“He is a multiple-time world champion, and I want to test myself against him. It’s my dream fight.”
Folayang’s wish may come true given that ONE Championship has launched one of its most-anticipated attractions -- the ONE Lightweight World Grand Prix. Four pairs of the top eight lightweight contenders square off in the hopes of eliminating their respective opponents and eventually wear the inaugural Grand Prix belt around their waist. The winner of the tournament will eventually challenge the reigning ONE Lightweight World Champion.
Folayang does not wish to divulge who he thinks will be the winner of the tournament, but he recognizes the crowd favorites for their track records.
“Eddie Alvarez, Lowen Tynanes and Saygid Guseyn Arslanaliev are probably the top three favorites to win the tournament,” he shared.
“When it comes to experience, Alvarez has the biggest advantage. Youth is on the side of Tynanes and Dagi[Arslanaliev],” said Folayang.
The Team Lakay’s representative and Folayang’s martial arts brother Honorio “The Rock” Banario was the first eliminated athlete. In a quarter-final bout that took place last 25 January at ONE: HERO”S ASCENT, American Lowen Tynanes stopped Banario via technical knockout. The Hawaiian stalwart banked on his wrestling skills, finishing Banario with just a few seconds left in the first round.
ONE: A NEW ERA, which goes down on 31 March, promises an exciting show including the debut of Alvarez as he competes against Russia’s Timofey Nastyukhin in another quarter-final bout of the Grand Prix in Tokyo, Japan.
For someone who has worked so hard to come this far, Folayang is thrilled with the possibility of facing off against a superstar like Alvarez. But given that the Grand Prix is filled with talented athletes, it is anyone’s game.
It is indeed a dream match between Folayang and Alvarez, but Folayang doesn’t have the time to dream of what could be given that he has a lot on his plate. He is scheduled to defend his ONE Lightweight World Title against Shinya “Tobikan Judan” Aoki in ONE: A NEW ERA’s headline bout.
“The ONE Lightweight World Grand Prix is a great test to find out who’s the worthy challenger to the champion. Each competitor has their own style and talent. Only the best will emerge out of this tournament,” Folayang concluded.
