Filipino MMA Star Admits 'Big Mistake' In Upset Loss To Former UFC Champ

Former One Championship lightweight champ Eduard Folayang said that he made a big mistake during the fight with former UFC champ Eddie Alvarez.

“ONE Championship 99: Dawn of Heroes” has been an eventful night and one of the most notable fights in the card was delivered by Folayang and Alvarez.

Folayang shocked Alvarez with a devastating and painful calf kick just seconds into the first round and had the former UFC fighter crashing to the ground.

Moments after the successful kick, the Filipino MMA star chased Alvarez for the kill, but in the blink of an eye, the latter turned things around and got Folayang's back.

Despite being hurt, Alvarez managed to somehow switch things up and all of a sudden locked Folayang in a deep rear-naked choke. Alvarez victoriously submitted Folayang at the 2:16 mark of the opening round.

During an interview after the terrible loss, Folayang revealed why he wasn’t able to take advantage of the situation where he could have finished the UFC champ, ABS-CBN reported.

"I rushed, that’s the mistake I made,” Folayang admitted.

The Team Lakay’s superstar also mentioned that he lost “focus” in the middle of the fight as he was “eager” to get the job done quickly.

"I lost focus, I wanted to get up as soon as possible and forgot I was very vulnerable at that point. I was eager to get the finish. I think that’s my mistake, I wasn’t patient I wanted to finish him as soon as possible but it didn’t turn out great,” Folayang said.

But despite the upset loss, Folayang is even more determined to come back stronger and hinted at a possible rematch with the UFC star.

"I’d like to quote what Douglas McArthur said: We shall return," Folayang pointed.

As a result of the big win, Alvarez clinched a spot in the ONE Championship lightweight grand prix finals. He’ll take on Saygid “Dagi” Arslanaliev on Oct. 13.

Another former UFC champ also managed to position himself in the finals. Demetrious Johnson won via unanimous decision against Tatsumitsu Wada on the same night.

Early in the opening round, Wada snatched the back of Johnson and dragged the fight to the ground. The second round was a polar opposite of the first, as Johnson took Wada down and controlled the fight on the mat. Johnson then controlled the fight for most of the third round and earned himself a unanimous decision victory, MMA Junkie reported.