MMA: Champion no more, as Folayang stunned in KO loss

It was a tough night for Filipino MMA fans after one of their champions lost his crown on Friday night.

Eduard Folayang was knocked out cold when he was tagged with a huge overhand right by his challenger, Martin Nguyen, in the main event of ONE: Legends of the World at Mall of Asia Arena.

"Landslide" was actually winning the bout in the opening round with his variety of kicks and punches.

But Nguyen, whom Folayang considers a friend, was able to sneak in the winning shot while evading Folayang's spinning back fist.

"I know he's coming with spinning back fist and it's up to me to adjust," said Nguyen. "Actually I was trying to go for a takedown by my instinct took over and it turned into an overhand right."

Right after impact, Folayang fell unconscious to the ground.

After the fight was called to a halt, Nguyen immediately went to Folayang and checked his friend out of concern.

"Honestly, it really hurt. Because I never ever wanted to see someone I know and like going through that. Unfortunately, it's martial artist versus martial artist and I couldn't help to have a little bit of hurt feeling for Eduard when got knocked out," he said.

Kevin Belingon, meanwhile, set himself for a title rematch against ONE bantam king Bibiano Fernandes by putting Kevin "Old Boy" Chung away via unanimous decision.

Belingon punished Chung with some of the heaviest shots of the night, but the South Korean grappler was able to threaten the "Silencer" with an arm lock in the second round.

The Team Lakay fighter, however, was able to escape Chung's grip and engaged the South Korean on stand-up for the remainder of the fight.

Gina "Conviction" Iniong continued her winning ways in the ONE Championship atomweight division by dominating her Indonesian foe.

Iniong secured a sidemount against Priscilla Hertati Lumban Gaol then trapped the Indonesian with a crucifix.

From there, she peppered the defenseless Priscilla with repeated strikes until the referee called a halt and awarded the victory to Iniong in the 2nd round.

Joshua Pacio made a successful comeback 3 months after his defeat to Hayato Suzuki by knocking out Roy Doliguez in their strawweight fight.

While mixing it up against Doliguez, Pacio spun around and connected a back fist to Doliguez's temple rendering the latter nearly unconscious in the 2nd round.

In the co-main event, Danny Kingad suffered his first career defeat when he got submitted by reigning flyweight champion Adriano Moraes.

Kingad initially had success warding off Moraes from scoring a takedown, but the Brazilian eventually found an opening and pinned the younger fighter to the ground.

Once on the mat, Moraes patiently worked his way to secure Kingad's back until he trapped the Filipino with a rear naked choke.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Folayang inspires McLaren as Fil-Aussie challenges Fernandes

MANILA, Philippines – Filipino-Australian bantamweight Reece McLaren is drawing inspiration from Eduard Folayang as he embarks on the biggest fight of his mixed martial arts career so far.

McLaren burst into the ONE Championship scene in 2015, and has since registered two highly impressive victories over top caliber opponents, earning him a shot against bantamweight world champion Bibiano "The Flash" Fernandes.

McLaren (9-3) is set to challenge Fernandes (19-3) in the co-main event of ONE: Age of Domination on December 2 at the Mall of Asia Arena.

He will be the underdog against Fernandes, but McLaren is drawing inspiration from the shock victory of Folayang over Japanese MMA legend Shinya Aoki two weeks ago, which gave "Landslide" the ONE Lightweight World Championship.

"I saw Eduard's fight, and I drew a lot of inspiration from it. Another fellow Filipino winning a world title shows that it can be done," said McLaren.

"Watching the fight was super exciting," he added. "I was on the edge of my seat."

"It was such a massive opportunity for him, and to see him walk away with the victory was just so inspirational."

Fernandes will bring an 11-fight winning streak into the fight, and the Brazilian star is making the fifth defense of his ONE Championship belt. McLaren, however, is unfazed by his underdog status.

"Being labeled as the favorite or the underdog doesn't really matter to me," he said. "I'm going to put a hundred percent into the work, and I hope it shows."

McLaren began his ONE Championship career with an upset victory Filipino warrior and fan-favorite Mark Striegl, and followed up that win over top Tajikistan prospect Muin Gafurov.

"I feel no difference between being the favorite or the underdog," he said. "Everyone loves the underdog story and they love it when he wins, so give me that label and I'll run with it."

"An upset to me is the man who is not meant to win, wins."

McLaren is confident that he can pull off a third consecutive upset win.

"I have Australia and the Philippines supporting me," he said. "Bibiano, it is such an honor to be facing you. I respect you a lot, but this is going to be a changing of the guard."

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Striegl looks to finish Australian foe in first round

MANILA, Philippines - His opponent may have changed, but for Filipino-American MMA fighter Mark Striegl, his mindset remains the same.

Striegl was initially supposed to face off against Australia's Jordan Lucas in the co-main event of ONE Championship: Spirit of Champions on December 11 at the Mall of Asia Arena, but Lucas was forced to withdraw from the bout due to an eye injury sustained in training.

Another Australian, Reece McLaren, stepped in to take his place, much to the relief of Striegl.

"It was a little less than two weeks before the fight," Striegl said, when asked when he found out that he had a new opponent. "So it was certainly nerve-wracking."

He holds no ill will towards Lucas – "That happens in this sport," he said of the injury – but is grateful that ONE Championship was able to find a replacement in time.

"I guess I was destined to fight an Australian," he joked Tuesday at the KMA Fitness Gym in Makati. "I'm just thankful that I can still fight in Manila, in the co-main event."

McLaren, like Lucas, is a champion in a local Australian organization, and Striegl says they are "equally dangerous." Nevertheless, his outlook remains unchanged.

"I always look to finish my opponent in the first round," he said. "You'll never see me in a boring fight. So I'm looking to take him out in the first round."

"It's a different opponent, so there are definitely some things you have to change up," he also said. "But a fight is a fight, and that's always my outlook on it. You go into a fight, you have to adapt inside the cage."

"You can only drill and do so many things. At the end of the day, it's just reaction, action, and reaction. I'll be ready."

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com