Watch: When Manny Pacquiao was live in attendance for ONE Championship

Manny Pacquiao, one of the greatest boxers in history, once sat cage side for a ONE Championship event which was hosted in The Philippines. In the fight card's main event, the ONE Lightweight Championship was on the line when Eduard Folayang faced off against Ev Ting.

'Landslide' Folayang was the reigning and defending champion going into this bout. Him being a Filipino fighter, he would've certainly looked up to all-time great Manny Pacquiao. It would've been an honor to fight in front of him.

The event was titled ONE Championship: Kings of Destiny and was hosted at the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila, Philippines. In this bout, Folayang was able to successfully defend his title in front of his home country crowd and Pacquiao.

Watch Manny Pacquiao and the fight below:

Years after the fight in a press release, the former ONE Championship titleholder credited Pacquiao as his idol and inspiration. Eduard Folayang said:

“Manny Pacquiao is an icon, a legend, and a hero... Our faith in God is strong, and this gives us the strength to face any challenges that come our way... Even up to now, Manny still inspires me to push through with my career and chase my dreams. His victory over Keith Thurman has inspired me to do my best in my next bout.”

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Manny Pacquiao inspiring many Filipino ONE Championship fighters

ONE Championship boasts many great Filipino fighters. MMA fighters such as Kevin Belingon, Brandon Vera, Joshua Pacio, René Catalan, Jenelyn Olsim, and many others.

One fighter in particular credits his success to being inspired by Pacquiao. 'Thunder Kid' Lito Adiwang is currently competing in the strawweight division and said in an interview with ONE:

"When I was younger, I was able to catch his early fights. I was so amazed. He kept on winning, and he did it in the most exciting way possible. He performed for the fans, and that gave me the fire to say, ‘One day, I want to do this and follow in his footsteps.'"

However, it's not just Pacquiao's fighting skills that he looks up to. Adiwang explains that what he sees in Manny is his humility. He explained:

“I have to highlight his humility. He’s achieved everything imaginable in boxing. He’s reached the top, yet he remains humble. This is where some athletes have trouble in life. Once we get something that we never had before, like money, some athletes tend to go into a downward spiral... But Senator Manny is different. His humility and how he handles fame, you’ll see that he didn’t change one bit.”

Pacquiao and his massive success in boxing have inspired many great Filipino fighters to join combat sports.