Make-or-break fight for Eduard Folayang

MANILA, Philippines — Filipino champion Eduard Folayang and American star Eddie Alvarez seek to redeem themselves from devastating defeats in their last fight as the two face off in the ONE Dawn of Heroes on Aug. 2 at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

The showdown in the stacked fight card is expected to make or break the lightweight title aspiration of both Folayang and Alvarez following embarrassing losses in the ONE: A New Era in Tokyo, Japan last March.

Folayang, 34, lost his lightweight crown following a first-round submission defeat via arm-triangle choke to Japanese legend Shinya Aoki while Alvarez, 35, had a disappointing ONE debut after getting knocked out cold by a heavy-hitting Russian Timofey Nastyukhin also in the opening round.

It was the seventh setback by Folayang against 21 victories including a third-round stoppage of Aoki in ONE: Defending Honor in Singapore three years ago that gave the proud Team Lakay bet his very first ever ONE belt.

Alvarez, meanwhile, fell to his second straight defeat and seventh overall against 29 triumphs but this particular loss to Nastyukhin hurt the most since it foiled his ONE debut after transferring from the Ultimate Fighting Championship.