“It made a lot of sense” - Chatri Sityodtong explains how the Eduard Folayang vs. John Wayne Parr fight came together

ONE Championship CEO Chatri Sityodtong knew exactly who he had to call when legendary kickboxer John Wayne Parr requested to have his retirement fight in the promotion.

During a recent ONE X press conference, Sityodtong said that choosing multi-time ONE lightweight world champion Eduard Folayang to see Parr into retirement was almost a no-brainer.

Chatri Sityodtong knew that he couldn’t send just anyone to face Parr in his final professional fight. Putting in Folayang, who is already a legend in both MMA and Wushu, was just the right thing to do.

The ONE Championship boss said:

“I said to him [Parr], 'Yeah, do it, but it has to be a 50/50 fight. I’m not going to do and give you like, you know, an easy fight.' And he said, ‘Yeah, let's go.’ And so as we look down the roster, you know, Edward is a world class striker, he hits hard, very, very hard. We thought about the fun factor and then we thought about the legend versus legend angle. You know, it just, it made a lot of sense."

Parr holds an impressive 99-34-1 record in his 25-year career. The Australian sporting icon has captured the WKA Muay Thai middleweight, WKBF K-1 middleweight, World Muay Thai Council Kings Cup Tournament, 2000 ISKA Muay Thai and K-1 ISKA Muay Thai middleweight championships, among others, during his storied career.

He’s also seeking the 100th win in his career and he could very well achieve that in his Muay Thai bout against Folayang. The two meet at ONE X, ONE Championship’s 10-year anniversary show, at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on March 26.

Discussing the Aussie's pursuit of a 100th win, Sityodtong said:

“John Wayne, he's a friend and he asked to have his retirement fight his final fight in ONE in an attempt to have his 100th victory. It's crazy to think of 100 victories, you know, in a really tough, tough sport like Muay Thai, where elbows and knees and I can't imagine, you know, what it's like to be at that level."

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Chatri Sityodtong expects a first-round finish

Sityodtong knows the offensive power Parr and Folayang have in their tanks. With that in mind, he said that there is no way the legendary fight will see the later rounds.

Parr holds 45 knockouts on his lengthy resume, while Folayang has seven KOs to his name.

Folayang’s pedigree extends to his wushu days. He is the winner of three gold medals at the Southeast Asian Games, a bronze and silver at the Asian Games and another bronze at the World Championships.

Discussing Folayang's credentials, Chatri Sityodtong said:

“Eduard has been doing striking since he's a little kid. He is a world I mean, I can see he is a world class striker. His background might be wushu, but he has dynamite in his hands and dynamite in his legs. And you know, if John Wayne blinks he'll be KO’d. But the second thing too was Eduard. Eduard blinks and he'll be KO'd by John Wayne. They both possess big ferocious knockout power. I don't see the fight going the distance actually, I think it'll end in the first round."

Tune in this Saturday, March 26, to see if Chatri Sityodtong's prediction of a finish comes to fruition.