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Mixed martial arts fans looking to get their fill of a stacked fight card will finally get their wish on Friday, October 30 when ONE Championship: Inside the Matrix gets going at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.
The card is headlined by 4 world championship fights: Aung La Nsang vs Reinier De Ridder (middleweight); Christian Lee vs Iuri Lapicus (lightweight); Martin Nguyen vs Thanh Le (featherweight); and Xiong Jingnan vs Tiffany Teo (strawweight).
Two preliminary non-title fights will open the card. Ritu Phogat vs Nou Srey Pov (atomweight ) will start the festivities, followed by a clash that Filipino fight fans will most certainly tune in for.
Eduard Folayang, Filipino MMA legend and two-time ONE lightweight champion, will make his return to the circle against Australia’s Antonio Caruso.
Both men are coming off losses to the same opponent, Pieter Buist of the Netherlands, and are looking to regain their footing in the lightweight division.
The return of Folayang
While the 4 championship fights are the main attractions of the night, Filipino fight fans will most certainly tune in to see the return of Folayang.
Nine months after his split decision loss to Buist, Folayang is looking for a comeback victory over Caruso.
It is a classic case of a young and hungry lion who is eager to usurp the position of the old and grizzled lion, one who isn’t ready to give up his place atop the pride.
According to Caruso – the younger lion in this case – he desires the accolades and accomplishments garnered by the 35-year-old Folayang, and facing him will be the first step in achieving such goals.
“He’s a legend in this division, he’s a legend of this sport, and he’s a legend of his country,” Caruso said.
“That’s exactly what I want to do. To do that you got to beat a legend, and I’m coming in the 30th to become the legend just like he is and make way for a new challenger in the lightweight division.”
Folayang declined to predict his own victory, but admitted that anything can happen during the upcoming fight.
“You can expect [the fight] to be short or long, it doesn’t matter as long as you witness it,” Folayang said in a recent media conference.
“I think that’s the suspense of the matter. When you watch on October 30, the decision will be there.”
The two men showed respect for each other’s abilities and accomplishments, but guaranteed it will be strictly business when they both step into the ring.
“It’s gonna be an honor to fight you,” Caruso said toward Folayang. “But unfortunately, it’s gonna be the old lion versus the young lion and I’m ready to take what’s mine. I hope the best Eduard Folayang comes to fight and I can’t wait to do it.”
In response, Folayang – ever the soft-spoken and humble gentleman – wished for safety and good health leading up to their fight.
“Let’s just be safe so we will not have COVID,” Folayang said.
ONE in Philippines
After this Friday’s event in Singapore – which will allow 250 mask-wearing fans inside the stadium after undergoing antigen tests for the coronavirus – ONE admits a Philippine event can’t be lined up just yet due to the limitations of foreign promotions in holding events overseas amid the pandemic.
“When we come back to the Philippines, we’ll make sure it’s a spectacular show and fans will be allowed in the stadium,” said Chatri Sityodtong, founder and CEO of ONE Championship.
But Sityodtong remains hopeful following their successful return in Singapore.
“The fact that the last month we are working with the Singapore government to bring back sports… [with] ONE Championship to lead the way with Singapore, we did it in October 9 flawlessly,” he said.
“Our COVID-19 protocol was very strong and everything went without a hitch, and in fact on October 30 we’re opening up the venue now to 250 super fans and that will be a mark for another step towards the right direction of having our full-scale events back.”
With fans finally being allowed to watch a ONE Championship event live within the venue – albeit in a limited capacity – Sityodtong wanted to give his patrons a fight card that lived up to high expectations.
“We’ve never done 4 world title fights other than last year at our 100th event,” he said. “We thought it’ll be a world treat for fans and at the same time I want to get all of our biggest stars back in action as quick as possible.” – Rappler.com
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