“I’m an athlete who doesn’t back down” - Eduard Folayang not intimidated by John Wayne Parr’s legendary pedigree

Eduard Folayang has fought some of MMA's biggest names in his lengthy career. So, facing Australian striking legend John Wayne Parr doesn’t even faze him.

A multi-time former ONE lightweight world champion, Folayang has already faced Shinya Aoki three times and former UFC titleholder Eddie Alvarez once in a clash of styles. However, Team Lakay's elder statesman fought purely in MMA. His fight against Parr will be under Muay Thai rules.

Parr, who’ll be competing in his final match at ONE X and retiring shortly afterward, will be in his wheelhouse come March 26 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. However, Eduard Folayang isn’t one to back down from a fight.

In a recent interview with ONE Championship, Folayang spoke about fighting the Australian in his retirement bout and why he saw it as a big opportunity to challenge the legend in his domain:

“There are a lot of people who want to fight John Wayne Parr in his retirement bout. I saw this as a big opportunity to fight him in his domain, and I like challenges. I’m an athlete who doesn’t back down and looks for reasons to back down. We look for challenges for us to grow and to evolve into better fighters. This could further unlock my potential. Who knows? Maybe my style is something he hasn’t seen in his time in the sport.”

Folayang has enjoyed two reigns with the lightweight world title in ONE Championship. Meanwhile, Parr's resume speaks for itself. He has captured the WKA Muay Thai middleweight, WKBF K-1 middleweight, World Muay Thai Council Kings Cup, and K-1 ISKA Muay Thai middleweight championships.

Eduard Folayang (22-12) has always relied on his striking during his MMA career, with seven of his victories coming via knockout or stoppage. His biggest knockout win was arguably his striking masterclass against Aoki to become the ONE lightweight world champion in November 2016.

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Eduard Folayang and John Wayne Parr in clash of striking veterans

The Filipino legend is a natural-born striker having represented the country in several international wushu competitions before he transitioned to MMA. However, there was still another sport that Folayang could’ve excelled at and that was kickboxing.

Team Lakay head coach Mark Sangiao revealed that the three-time Southeast Asian Games gold medallist was a kickboxer before he transitioned to wushu at the turn of the millennium.

Sangiao said that while Parr spent nearly all of his professional career as a kickboxer and Muay Thai specialist, Folayang isn’t totally out of the loop when it comes to the two disciplines.

Eduard Folayang, 38, is seven years the junior of Parr and admits that he didn’t witness the Australian’s prime. The Filipino says that he’s more concerned about how Parr fares in the twilight of his career:

“Yes I was able to catch some of his fights but I didn’t really get to see him in his prime. I’m more focused on his last performance because that is an indication of what it would be like to face him now."