"I want to get a feel for the sport" – Eduard Folayang on considering full-time transition to Muay Thai after John Wayne Parr fight

Eduard Folayang has already created his legacy in both wushu and mixed martial arts, and now he’s pondering whether a move to Muay Thai would be the next course of action in his already illustrious career.

The ONE Championship pioneer will be the one responsible to see off legendary striker John Wayne Parr into retirement, but their ONE Super Series Muay Thai match at ONE X will be the first time that Folayang will fight under such a ruleset.

In an interview with ONE Championship, the man also known as 'The Landslide' said:

“Honestly, I don’t know. I want to get a feel for the sport, for ONE Super Series in this fight. Maybe after this fight, I will be able to assess and think about what I truly want to do moving forward. It’s hard to say yes immediately. It just so happened that this opportunity opened up for me, and I grabbed it. After this, I’ll be able to decide. I’ve been competing for the longest time. I’ve been called the face of Philippine MMA, so as much as possible, I want to further add to that legacy."

Team Lakay’s elder statesman is considered as one of the greatest MMA fighters the Philippines has produced, with two ONE Championship lightweight world titles to his name.

Folayang, who headlined ONE Championship’s first event in 2011, is also a premier wushu fighter who has won three gold medals at the Southeast Asian Games and a bronze in the 2005 World Championships in Hanoi.

Parr, meanwhile, is regarded as one of the best kickboxers and Muay Thai fighters of his generation who has captured the WKA Muay Thai middleweight, WKBF K-1 Middleweight, World Muay Thai Council Kings Cup Tournament, and K-1 ISKA Muay Thai middleweight championships over the course of a near-three decade-long career.

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Taking on Parr a ‘big responsibility’ for Folayang

Although this is be the first time that Folayang will fight against a non-MMA fighter in ONE Championship, he said cross-discipline bouts were common outside the organization and that he usually fought against Muay Thai fighters during his wushu days.

Folayang added that while he’s already familiar with cross-discipline bouts, fighting against Parr in his own wheelhouse is still a different atmosphere, especially with the match taking place at ONE Championship’s 10-year anniversary card.

“There was a lot of wushu versus Muay Thai fights before, when I was competing internationally. But of course, this is a bigger stage, it’s the global stage and I’d be able to represent my sport. I see it as a big responsibility. There are a lot of wushu athletes who are looking for this kind of opportunity and it was given to me, so I have to do my part. I have to train hard, give my very best in preparation for this fight, just so I don’t fail in the expectations of the people."