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The Takedown | One Championship and Eddie Alvarez playing a dangerous game with Eduard Folayang fight
- Many expected One to give Alvarez an easier opponent for his second fight but Eduard Folayang is the real deal
- Manila test will be a moment of truth for Alvarez’s MMA career after debut defeat
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Turning to a seasoned grappling veteran and MMA journalist after Eddie Alvarez’s shock first-round TKO in Tokyo, I was told One Championship would just give the former UFC star a “tomato can” to beat up on next.
It hasn’t quite worked out that way. Whether Alvarez asked for it, or One decreed it, the “Underground King” is getting no favours from the Asian MMA organisation for his second fight.
Alvarez will take on former lightweight champion Eduard Folayang in the Filipino’s own backyard at Manila’s “One: Dawn of Heroes” on August 2.
All this just a few months removed from his defeat by Timofey Nastyukhin, when Alvarez said his eye “exploded from the inside” thanks to the Russian’s punches.
Folayang too has heaps to prove – he lost his lightweight title in the first round to Shinya Aoki on the same Tokyo card at the end of March in the main event at Ryogoku Sumo Hall.
Nico is a production editor on the South China Morning Post’s sport desk, where he covers mixed martial arts (MMA) in Asia, as well as local sport in Hong Kong. He was previously a sports writer and editor for ESPN.
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