Folayang faces ex-UFC fighter in One FC: Rise to Power

MANILA, Philippines - The ONE Fighting Championship's next fight card in Manila dubbed "Rise to Power" on May 31 at the MOA Arena will boast of not just two former Ultimate Fighting Championship veterans but three in Britsh-Iranian Kamal Shalorus.

Shalorus, 35, arrived earlier today or almost a week before his much-anticipated lightweight bout with Filipino hero Eduard Folayang whom the former hopes to defeat and make a big impact on his debut fight in the biggest and most popular fight organization in the Asia-Pacific region.

Folayang will have his hands full against Shalorus, a world class wrestler from Khalkhal, Iran who was later granted British citizenship after representing the United Kingdom in the Olympic qualifiers.
But Shalorus' best moments came in the World Extreme Cagefighting where he won three fights and drawn one where he should have won it if not for a crucial point-deduction for groin strikes to improve to a solid 7-0-2 (win-loss-draw) record.

When WEC eventually merged with the UFC, Shalorus was thrust into competing in the latter where he'll be given a chance to shine.

"When I was in WEC, I ran through several top contenders and former titleholders and made it to the top and I was very close to the belt in WEC when the organization merged with UFC and then I knew that I needed about two fights to earn the title shot but it didn't happen. Now that I have such a great opportunity, I am very determined to win ONE FC belt,"  Shalorus told The STAR in an exclusive interview.

"I have been training without distractions at Kaizen MMA Team. My head coach, Nima Mazhari, is from my hometown and I feel at home there. They have helped me so much to stay on my feet, work on my weaknesses and look for a better future in this sport," he added.

Shalorus, however, lost all his three fights on the octagon to American Jim Miller, Russian Khabib Nurmagomedov and Brazilian Rafael dos Anjos.

A year after it, Shalorus landed in the ONE FC where he will have a chance to become champion.

"Kamal Shalorus is one of the most exciting fighters ONE FC is bringing to Manila in ONE FC: Rise to Power on May 31," ONE FC marketing and media head Loren Mack yesterday told The STAR.
"Believe me if a I tell you that the Shalorus-Folayang duel will be a great match up, everybody should pay extra attention to it," he added.

Shalorus is one of the former UFC stars competing in ONE FC: Rise to Power with the other two being former UFC heavyweight champion Tim "The Maine-iac" Sylvia and knockout artist and All-American wrestler Phil Baroni.

"I left Iran to pursue my destiny and find my missing star in the sky which was my young childhood dream. I traveled from country to country when I was very young until I settled in U.K. where I represented British wrestling team and eventually to USA where MMA is very popular and now it is my permanent home," said Shalorus.

Other fighters to watch out for are headliner Brazilian Bibiano Fernandes and Filipinos Honorio Banario, Kevin Belingon, Geje Eustaquio and Rey Docyogen, all fighting out of Baguio-based Team Lakay.