Friday, October 17, 2014

Three Igorot Fighters Scheduled To See Action In One Fighting Championship: Warrior's Way In Manila

At least three Cordilleran mixed martial artists will be seeing action when One Fighting Championship stages another event dubbed Warrior's Way at the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila this coming December 5. In an event page created by the MMA promotion company on their official Facebook page,  the names of Cordilleran fighters Eduard Folayang, Eric Kelly and Kevin Belingon were mentioned. However, their opponents haven't been announced yet.

Eric Kelly is coming off a submission win over Australia's Rob Lisita in July of this year. The two featherweights engaged in a bloody battle in front of a packed crowd in Taipei, Taiwan. With the victory, Kelly set himself up as the number one contender for the One FC featherweight belt and at one point he was even rumored to fight champion Koji Oishi in Dubai just more than a month after his fight with Lisita. However, he was advised to take some time off to let the injuries he incurred in the Lisita fight to heal. 

With Kelly in the sidelines, champion Oishi faced Mongolia's Jadamba Narantungalag instead. It was a huge upset as Narantungalag dominated the champion from the first round to the end. Because Kelly is the number one contender in the division, a lot of MMA fans expect his opponent in the upcoming Manila event to be Narantungalag.

Promotional poster for Warrior's Way. Photo by One Fighting Championship.
Eduard Folayang notched two straight victories in his most recent outings in the One FC. This is a redemption of sort after two straight losses in 2012 and 2013 to Lowen Tynanes and Kamal Shalorus respectively.

Kevin Belingon, on the other hand, is coming off a loss to Dae Hwan Kim in his last fight. Belingon fought seven times under the One FC banner and his record under the promotion currently stands at three wins and four losses. Needless to say, the Ifugao fighter's next outing this coming December in Manila is a must-win for him.

Because Warrior's Way is supposed to be a showcase for Filipino fighters, other Cordilleran fighters may join Kelly, Folayang and Belingon in the card. There are several other fighters in the Team Lakay lineup who might make it to the event. There's Honorio Banario, Rey Docyogen, and Geje Eustaquio among others.

Warrior's Way will be headlined by former Ultimate Fighting Championship star Brandon Vera. Vera's opponent hasn't been announced yet. Vera lost his last two fights in the UFC. This will be his first fight in the One FC.