NGUYEN KOS FOLAYANG
MARTIN “THE SITU-ASIAN” NGUYEN scored a second round knockout victory against top Filipino mixed martial arts ( MMA) fighter Eduard “Landslide” Folayang with a quick right blow to capture the ONE lightweight title late Friday evening at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
With his victory in ONE: Legends of the World, featherweight champion Nguyen made history by becoming ONE Championship’s first two-division champion.
“Eduard, I still love you like a brother. I hope you are fine and I hope you come back stronger,” said the AustralianVietnamese cage fighter after his resounding win.
Folayang and Nguyen’s exchange of solid strikes in the opening minutes of the fight continued in the second round.
Nguyen’s explosive right hand caught Folayang while the Team Lakay standout is executing a spinning backfist two minutes and 20 seconds into the second round.
“I was an underdog coming into the fight, but it did not hinder me in accomplishing my main objective, which is a TKO or a submission,” added Nguyen, who improved his record to 10-1.
Nguyen admitted that he was hurt seeing Folayang got knocked out because of their friendship.
Folayang’s fight record dropped to 18- 6.
Another Pinoy fighter Danny Kingad also absorbed a sorry loss. Kingad’s dream of becoming a champion was crushed with a rear- naked choke submission defeat to undisputed ONE flyweight champion Adriano “Mikinho” Moraes, 15 seconds before the end of the opening round.
“It was tough defending my belt and I have high respect for Kingad for giving me a wellfought battle,” said Moraes.
Kevin “The Silencer” Belingon saved the day for the Philippines with a unanimous decision victory against Kevin “Oldboy” Chung after three rounds of action.
Belingon dictated the pace with his stand-up game demolishing the Korean-American fighter with feral attacks.
Also raising the Philippine flag during that night were Gina “The Conviction” Iniong and Joshua “The Passion” Pacio.
Team Lakay’s atomweight prospect Iniong scored secondround technical knockout against Indonesia’s Priscilla Hertati Lumban Gaol using her signature relentless strikes.
Pacio, on the other hand, beat veteran Roy “The Dominator” Doliguez via knockout with a spinning backfist at the 38th second mark of the second round.