By Kevin Estrada
Team Lakay superstar Eduard Folayang has no plans hanging up his gloves anytime soon despite suffering a stinging defeat to China’s Zhang Lipeng at the main event of ONE Championship: Battleground II that was beamed Friday evening at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.
Folayang absorbed his fourth loss in a row, and the sixth in his last seven fights.
The former ONE World Champion had trouble against the 31-year-old native of Beijing who was out to prove a statement in his ONE Championship debut.
With a 42% submission rate in his MMA career, the Warrior meant serious business as he dictated the bout on his terms, in which he almost took out the Landslide by attempting a rear-naked choke in the opening round.
Zhang’s aggressiveness inside the circle was even punctuated by a massive takedown on Folayang in the third and final round, with all three judges favoring his impressive performance.
“I’m happy, but I’m also a little bit tired,” he said to analyst Mitch Chilson after ending a two-year layoff with an emphatic win.
Folayang then rued the lethargic showing that consigned him to his fourth straight defeat.
He admitted to Chilson, “There’s some areas where I had not been able to cope up, especially in the first round.”
“This isn’t the performance that I want to show.”
However, the Landslide continues to be defiant in the face of his free fall, which he was not even ready to call time on his career.
“I know it’s not yet over. There’s still a lot to be showcased. My dream is much bigger than these failures.”
Follow the writer on Twitter: @kevinlestrada
