Eduard Folayang excited to watch Reinier de Ridder vs. Anatoly Malykhin fight in Manila

Eduard Folayang has a match lined up this December, but he’s also keen on watching another high-profile bout in the same card he’s in. The Filipino legend will take on Brazil’s Edson Marques in the lead card of ONE on Prime Video 5 this December 2 at the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila.

Though Folayang’s working hard to prepare against Marques, he also wants to take a fan’s seat and watch the match between two-division world champion Reinier de Ridder and Anatoly Malykhin in the card’s main event.

De Ridder will defend the ONE light heavyweight world championship against Malykhin, the ONE interim heavyweight world champion, in the card’s headliner. ONE on Prime Video 5 is available for free to existing Amazon subscribers in North America.

In an interview with ONE Championship, Eduard Folayang said that he’s honored to fight in front of an American audience and also to be on the same card as De Ridder and Malykhin:

“I’m honored to be fighting on such a huge Prime Video card. There are so many great fighters competing. I’m excited to see Reinier de Ridder vs. Anatoly Malykhin, that’s going to be a good fight. I’m also excited to watch all of our Filipino martial artists. And of course, these two events are happening in Manila, in front of all the great Filipino fans. It’s going to be electric.”

De Ridder, who also holds the ONE middleweight world title, and Malykhin both hold perfect records in their respective careers. It's only inevitable that one of them is losing that precious zero on their resume.

Malykhin will go down to 225 lbs for the first time in his ONE Championship career and try to join the exclusive club of two-division world champions. The Russian fighter, who’s 3-0 inside the circle and 11-0 overall, captured interim gold when he knocked out Kirill Grishenko at ONE: Bad Blood this past February.

De Ridder, meanwhile, is 16-0 in his career and 7-0 in his mixed martial arts fights in ONE Championship. ‘The Dutch Knight’ is one of the most dangerous grapplers in the organization, and his first-round submission win over Vitaly Bigdash at ONE 159 to retain the middleweight gold was proof of that.

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Eduard Folayang hyped for his return to Manila

Eduard Folayang knows that fighting in his home country will always be a special event. That’s why he’s more than excited for ONE Championship’s return to Manila.

The promotion hasn’t had an event in the Philippine capital since ONE: Fire and Fury in January 2020, just a couple of months before the world went into lockdown due to COVID-19.

Now that restrictions have been eased, Eduard Folayang said that he can’t wait to step back inside the circle in front of his home nation’s fans. In a previous interview with ONE Championship, Eduard Folayang said:

“What I like about fighting at MOA Arena, or in the Philippines in general, is that you can really feel the electricity from the capacity crowd. Philippine fans are knowledgeable about the fight game and when they watch an MMA fight, you just get this shot of adrenaline whenever they cheer or shout your name. Filipino fans bring a different kind of energy during fights, that’s why I’m excited that ONE Championship is back in Manila this December."