Nguyen makes history by winning 2nd ONE FC belt

Filipino MMA icon Eduard Folayang’s reign as lightweight king in the ONE Championship has ended after a second-round knockout loss to challenger and current featherweight champion Martin Nguyen in the main event of ONE: Legends of the World last Friday night at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Manila.

The 28-year-old Nguyen knocked Folayang out cold with a right overhand to the jaw as the Filipino MMA star threw his patented spinning kick.

Folayang got the better of the striking exchange in the first round and duration of the second round before getting knocked out in the 2:20 mark.

Nguyen made ONE Championship history by becoming the organization’s first two-division champion. Nguyen improved to 10-1, while Folayang dropped to 18-6.

Last year, the 33-year-old Folayang scored one of the biggest upsets in MMA history with a thirdround stoppage of Japanese superstar Shinya Aoki for the lightweight belt. He defended it once with a unanimous decision over Ev Ting before losing it a day shy of his one-year reign as champion.

Folayang’s Team Lakay teammate, Danny Kingad, also fell short in his bid for the flyweight title after tapping out in the first round from a rear-naked-choke by Adriano Moraes in the co-main event.

Moraes retained his belt and improved to 17-2, while Kingad suffered his first career loss, dropping down to 7-1. /