Eduard Folayang and other athletes inspire Tondo kids in Manila

Global Citizen Athlete Ambassador Eduard Folayang poses a photo with kids at Tondo in Manila. Photo Courtesy: One Championship

Cordillera - Global Citizen Athlete Ambassadors Angela Lee, Brandon Vera and Team Lakay champion Eduard Folayang toured the Tondo area in Manila to give hope  and inspire children about the importance of education. 

Together with Young Focus team, the athletes toured the area, met community members and visited Young Focus centers that cater children from infancy, preschool, all the way up to the tertiary level. 

The athletes spent their times helping the kids with their lessons such as Mathematics and English. They also shared their personal stories and told the children the importance of education. 

Some 100 Young Focus students and staff were also given a privilege to attend the ONE:GLOBAL SUPERHEROES events last Friday night at the Mall of Asia Arena. 

Global Citizen Athlete Ambassador Eduard Folayang helps a young kid with her lesson. Photo Courtesy: One Championship.

"It was such an amazing experience, of course. You really feel for the hardship my countrymen are experiencing now, especially the youth. As a ONE Championship athlete, it is my honor to be able to give back to the Filipino people. I'm sure the entire world would also love to be part of this movement, so I encourage everyone to check out Global Citizen and how each of us can help in our own little ways." Global Citizen Athlete Ambassador Eduard Folayang said. 

Young Focus is a local NGO in the Philippines that provides underprivileged youth in the Tondo or "Smokey Mountain" Area of Manila the chance to develop themselves intelectually, emotionally, physchologically, and spiritually. Through education, Young Focus addresses poverty directly by giving the next generation the best possible opportunities in life.

source || One Championship

Read More

Team Lakay's coach Mark Sangiao - among the top 5 head coaches in Asian Martial Art

Photo Credit: Onefc

Cordillera - Believe it or not, behind the triumph of every champion out there in the world were their coaches who stayed focus, motivated and willing to impart not only their skills but their time to hone the skills of their boxers.

Team Lakay of Cordillera, the most well-known martial arts team in the Philippines has been successful in producing several of the most talented and skilled fighters in the Mixed Martial Arts arena and now making the country shines as the home of the best boxers in the world.

The success of a fighter and a team could not be realized without the coaches who work almost none-stop just to get to the plan done and finish the goal as much as possible in a positive manner.

In a featured article by One Championship, it listed the top 5 coaches in Asian Martial Arts, one of whom Mark Sangiao was listed as number 2.

Here is the excerpt from the article:

" A Filipino martial arts pioneer, Mark Sangiao established Team Lakay many years ago building its home base in the mountains of Baguio City to provide his fellow countrymen with a platform on which to unleash their martial arts greatness.

Along the way, Sangiao has developed martial art superstars who continue to inspire Asia and the world, including former ONE Lightweight World Champion Eduard "Landslide" Folayang, former Featherweight World Champion Honorio "The Rock" Banario, and several world title contenders.

It is mission accomplished for Sangiao, who set out to dominate the Philippine martial arts scene through the art of wushu, and showcase homegrown Filipino talent for all the world to see. Today, Team Lakay is the most well-known martial arts team in the country.

More than just a martial arts coach, however, Sangiao is looked up to as a father figure who genuinely cares for the students under his wing. This has resulted in a bond that extends far beyond the reaches of the cage, and has shaped wonderful human beings who are also true martial artists."

 Among the the top 5 head coaches featured was Fari Salievski who took the number one spot.
Salievski is the head coach of Martin "The Situ-Asian" Nguyen who made a stunning victory in 2017, grabbing two world-title belts in different divisions.

Nguyen shocked the world by defeating Folayang in a well-executed counter punch that led the former champion lying on the canvass.

Read More

Igorot MMA Champiom Eduard Folayang to be featured in a documentary.

Cordillera - ONE Lightweight World Champion Eduard "Landslide" Folayang will be featured in a documentary film produced by an award-winning Filipino director to show the life story of the Igorot Champion.

The documentary titled Landslide is a breakdown of Folayang's journey from a struggling school teacher to being one of the most decorated world champion in the mixed martial art sport industry.

Directed by award-winning Filipino film director, film producer, screenwriter and cinematography Amable "Tikoy" Aguiluz, the film "Landslide" will take us behind the scenes into the life of Igorot fighter Eduard Folayang.

Aguiluz is known for the Rizal sa Dapital (1997) film that documented the life in exile of Philippine national hero Jose Rizal. The film was shown at numerous film festival in the world including the Toronto International Film Festival and the Brussels International Film Festival.

Eduard Folayang has successfully defended his ONE Lightweight World Championship title against Malaysian fighter Ev Ting during their grueling bout at the SM Mall of Asia Arena  in Manila last month.

The ONE: KINGS OF DESTINY  has captured a record of the most watched MMA event in the country according to ONE Championship chairman Chatri Sityodtong.

"Numbers don't lie. We broke all records with a 26 per cent peak TV ratings share as per Nielsen. Those numbers are massive. It means one in four Filipinos who were watching TV were watching ONE Championship," said Sityodtong.

The record has beaten UFC's best of 7 percent when it showed lightweight championship clash between MrGregor and Alvarez in November.

video credits: Rolando Eucasion 

Read More