FORMER One Championship lightweight world Champion Eduard Folayang returned to the cage and proved all his doubters wrong.
After losing the title six months ago, the Filipino stormed into the Singapore Indoor Stadium and wanted to make a statement.
On Friday, Folayang made that statement, with a decisive unanimous decision victory over previously unbeaten Russian Sambo Champion Kharun Atlangeriev at ONE: Unstoppable Dreams.
Folayang attacked the Russian right at the start of the opening bell with fierce striking, and inflicted heavy ground and pound whenever the action hit the canvas.
Not to be outdone, Atlangeriev powered his way out of a bad position near the end of the first round, before landing a few shots of his own on the former lightweight king.
That brief flurry of offense was about all the sambo expert was able to muster, as Folayang took over as soon as the second round began.
The Team Lakay veteran was methodical with his offense while chipping away at the Russian’s legs with blistering kicks, and punched with surgical precision. Also, every time Atlangeriev attempted a takedown, Folayang sprawled and brawled his way back to the feet.
As time ticked away in the third round, the Filipino hero maintained control by using his signature kicks to keep Atlangeriev at distance.
At one point, he even caught the tiring Russian by surprise with a lightning quick heel kick.
Following three rounds of intense action, Folayang captured a clear-cut unanimous decision victory.
In the main event, Angela Lee of Singapore continued her reign as the women’s atomweight world champion, notching a unanimous decision victory over Japan’s Mei Yamaguchi.
Lee and Yamaguchi traded heavy blows and showcased high-level, tactical grappling skills all throughout the bout to the delight of a packed Singapore Indoor Stadium crowd. Yamaguchi started out very strong in the early going, but Lee came close with several near-submissions.
Throughout five gruelling rounds, Lee dug deep to show the heart of a champion, doing just enough to earn the unanimous decision win.
In the co-main event, Sam-A Gaiyanghadao of Thailand exhibited his stellar and fearsome form against Dutch kickboxer Sergio Wielzen to become the first ONE Super Series Muay Thai flyweight world champion.
Banking on his trademark power to dominate from start to finish, Sam-A hammered hard elbows to score a knockdown in the fourth round. Reeling in excruciating pain, Wielzen failed to beat the count of ten, compelling the referee to wave off the bout and declare Sam-A the winner via knockout.
Martin Nguyen of Australia also successfully defended his featherweight world championship title, defeating Singaporean rival Christian Lee by a closely-contested split decision.
Although Nguyen would have his moments on his feet in the first two rounds, most of the action took place in the grappling arena.
Lee enjoyed a tremendous advantage on the ground, negating his opponent’s signature firepower.
Determined to keep the gold-plated strap around his waist, Nguyen bombarded Lee with a barrage of solid punches midway of the third round.
With lesser activity from Lee, Nguyen continued to press the action up to the final round to emerge victorious on two of the three judges’ scorecards, earning him the split decision win.