Folayang duels with Shalorus at MOA

MANILA, Philippines - Eduard Folayang, a former SEA Games and Asian Games gold medal winner, sees action in the ONE Fighting Championship: Rise to Power on May 31 against veteran Kamal Shalorus at the MOA Arena in Pasay.

The Baguio-based Team Lakay mainstay, 28, is coming off a successful US trip where he honed his ground-and-pound and takedown skills in his buildup against Shalorus.

Folayang is seeking no less than a victory following a setback to American Lowen Tynanes via TKO (doctor stoppage) in the URCC 22: Dekada in December last year.

But he exudes confidence this time following a no-nonsense training in the US where he acquired some takedown defense and grappling techniques he hopes to use against Shalorus, a noted submission specialist.

Honorio Banario and Kevin Belingon, meanwhile, are also set to see action in the upcoming blockbuster card. Banario, who has won eight of his nine fights on the MMA cage and the first Filipino ONE FC champion, will defend the title against Koji Oishi of Japan.

He wrested the featherweight title from Eric Kelly in ONE FC: Return of Kings in Kuala Lumpur  last February.

Belingon clashes with Masakatsu Ueda of Japan in the Bantamweight Grand Prix finale. 

The winner will earn a title crack at either reigning champion Soo Chul Kim of South Korea or fight for the interim title still to be contested by Brazil’s Bibiano Fernandez and Japan’s Keotsu Okazaki.

Phil Baroni, who knocked out Brazilian Rodrigo Ribiero in ONE FC: Pride of Nation at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum last year, tangles with knockout artist Nobutatsu Suzuki of Japan.

“I’m excited to see Honorio Banario back in action in front of his home crowd at the state-of-the art Mall of Asia Arena,” said ONE FC chief Victor Cui, a Fil-Canadian. 

Tickets for ONE FC: Rise to Power will be available at all Casino Filipino branches starting April 22. Fans from around the world can watch the action online via live streaming at www.onefc.livesport.tv.