ONE Championship CEO Addresses Eduard Folayang's Shock Loss

Eduard Folayang was holding up admirably well against Brazil's Edson Marques in the final fight of the lead card of ONE on Prime Video 5.

The Filipino hero, however, was on the losing side of history this time around as he fell victim to Marques' meteoric right hand that sent him crashing face-first to the canvas.

However, he was able to get up quickly off the canvas and was raring to redeem the round as referee Olivier Coste had already called a stop to the action because of how Folayang crashed.

Folayang commented on the deflating outcome of his fight and essentially believed that it was too early, but admitted that he could not do anything else since Coste had already called it off.

Following the main event fight of ONE on Prime Video 5 between Reinier de Ridder and Anatoly Malykhin, ONE Championship CEO Chatri Sityodtong spoke with the media.

International Business Times sports editor and combat sports analyst Nissi Icasiano took the opportunity to ask him about Folayang's fate and his thoughts on the matter, agreeing that Coste did call off the fight a little early.

"Two things come into my head. One, I thought that was an early stoppage, but at the same time, I also think Eduard (Folayang), if he doesn't change his fighting style... I'm a little concerned. Given where he is in his career, yeah," Chatri noted.

However, Chatri noted that the knockout was also partially on Folayang's fault as he "got a little bit reckless towards the end and that cost him the fight" from the perspective of the ONE Championship bigwig.

Icasiano also asked him about possibly reviewing the fight outcome between Folayang and Marques, which Chatri emphasized is already "long gone."

With Folayang being unable to stop his losing skid, his mixed martial arts (MMA) future is hanging in the balance.

The 39-year-old Filipino does have an option to still fight under ONE Championship, though it will not be in MMA.

Back in March of this year, Folayang dipped his toes in Muay Thai when he took on a legend of the sport in John Wayne Parr.

Folayang's Wushu-centric style appears to be a perfect fit for ONE Championship's Muay Thai division and with that door possibly open for the Filipino star, Icasiano also asked Chatri about Folayang switching areas of disciplines.

"That's the thing with [mixed] martial arts–there are many other disciplines that he can compete in, it's really up to Eduard. I need to talk with Mark [Sangiao] and Eduard. It's too early for me to say," Chatri responded.