When Eduard Folayang takes on mixed martial arts fighter Choo Sung-hoon on April 29, the Team Lakay standout will keep in mind the lessons he learned in the past.
This time around, the 37-year-old Folayang, vows not to make the same mistakes that he did during his last two fights in the ONE Championship.
The 45-year-old Choo, who is also known as Yushihiro Akiyama, will be the more experienced fighter, although he has not fought in 14 months.
Folayang said his passion to be better than himself in previous fights, is driving him to be at his best against Akiyama.
“I still have the passion to do the sport that I love. Nakita ko na ang mga pagkakamali ko na ayaw ko na maulit,” said Folayang.
Folayang is seeking redemption from his two straight setbacks, first at the hands of Peter Buist via a split decision in January last year.
After that, Folayang bowed to Antonio Caruso via unanimous decision last October in a loss that proved to be a wakeup call for the Baguio native.
“Sabi nila, matanda na ako. Pero mas kilala ko ang sarili ko,” added Folayang, who has a 22-10 win-loss record.
Akiyama, a welterweight, will be going down to the lightweight division to confront Folayang in the ONE match.
An Asian Games gold medalist in judo, Akiyama last fought in February of 2020, and won against Egypt’s Sherif Mohamed in the “ONE Championship 109: King of the Jungle.”
During the bout, Akiyama knocked out Mohamed in three minutes and four seconds into the first round.
The fight was part of Ultimate Fighting Championship’s 144th event at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.
