Former ONE Lightweight World Champion Eduard “Landslide” Folayang recently responded to a call out made by reigning division king Christian “The Warrior” Lee.
The Filipino, who is not one to back down from a challenge, accepted the invitation from the Singaporean prodigy.
“It would be an honor for me, and of course it will be a different challenge,” Folayang said.
Lee continues to improve as a mixed martial artist, and “Landslide” recognizes his progress.
The Evolve MMA standout came aboard The Home Of Martial Arts as a wide-eyed 17-year-old competing in the featherweight division.
While he had relative success in the weight class, he had trouble hurdling reigning ONE Featherweight World Champion Martin “The Situ-Asian” Nguyen, losing by guillotine choke in their first meeting and then coming up short in their rematch.
The pair of defeats prompted “The Warrior” to move to the lightweight division, where he grew into a superstar.
Competing in a new division, Lee upset Japanese legend Shinya “Tobikan Judan” Aoki for the ONE Lightweight World Title. He then proved the win was no fluke when he beat Saygid “Dagi” Guseyn Arslanaliev in the ONE Lightweight World Grand Prix Championship Final.
Folayang praised the 22-year-old for his rapid development in the ONE Circle.
“I am very impressed with his improvements,” Folayang said. “I saw his growth as an athlete.”
“Landslide” is excited to face Lee, but he knows that he has to conquer many obstacles to get a shot at the reigning ONE Lightweight World Champion.
Lee is set to defend his strap against Iuri Lapicus sometime in the future, while Folayang has to scale the division’s ladder to get his name in ONE’s top-five lightweight rankings.
The soft-spoken Filipino, however, is hopeful that it will happen.
“It’s going to be a very challenging match if I face Christian Lee. I know I am still far from a World Title match, but in the future, I look forward to facing him,” Folayang said.
“It will be a big challenge for me if we face each other. I want to face him, and I hope he remains the champ by then.”
