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Eduard Folayang talked about the significant impact of Lions Nation MMA's supportive team atmosphere. In 2023, former members of the legendary training camp Team Lakay started Lions Nation MMA in Benguet, Philippines.
The founders of Lions Nation MMA featured Folayang, ONE strawweight MMA world champion Joshua Pacio, Kevin Belingnon, and Jeremy Pacatiw.
During an interview with ONE, Folayang had this to say about the supportive culture established at his current training team:
"The key is embracing our different roles, our different expertise. I can’t do everything, especially now when the gym is truly busy. We need everyone on board for the continuous team success. Having the right people around us has a huge impact on our fighters and the gym."
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Between 2020 and 2022, Eduard Folayang endured the most disappointing stretch of his fighting career due to five consecutive losses. The former ONE lightweight MMA world champion last fought in September 2023, bouncing back with a third-round knockout win against Amir Khan.
At 41 years old, Folayang plans to continue building momentum when he faces a familiar opponent later this month.
Watch Folayang's latest knockout win against Khan below:
Eduard Folayang looks to even series against Shinya Aoki
On March 23, Eduard Folayang will end his extended layoff during the highly-anticipated ONE 172 event. Folayang has been matched up against Shinya Aoki, an opponent he's fought three times in ONE Championship.
Aoki won the last two meetings by first-round submission, while Folayang secured a third-round knockout in their first fight.
Aoki will have an advantage in their fourth matchup, as ONE 172 goes down inside the Saitama Super Arena in his home country of Japan.
Heading into ONE 172, Aoki has established slight momentum due to a first-round submission win against John Lineker, who accepted the open-weight bout on a few hours' notice.
The March 23 spectacle will be headlined by a must-see kickboxing bout between Rodtang and Takeru.
Other fights to watch include Superlek vs. Nabil Anane (bantamweight Muay Thai world title unification), Tawanchai vs. Masaaki Noiri (interim featherweight kickboxing world title), and more.
Take a look at the entire ONE 172 fight card below:
