Cordillera native is RP’s biggest UFC hope

Posted at 11:13 am February 24, 2010

Tags: Martial Arts, Mixed Martial Arts

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By Lawrence Casiraya

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BAGUIO CITY, BENGUET — The rise of Brandon Vera, Mark Muñoz and Philippe Nover has become a source of pride for Filipino fans of the wildly popular UFC mixed martial arts spectacle. But these fighters honed their skills abroad, leaving room for a truly homegrown talent to be the first to climb onto the octagon ring.

Enter Eduard “The Landslide” Folayang, born and bred in this mountainous region and welterweight champion in the URCC, the country’s first and biggest martial arts promotion.

Though still early in his MMA career (carrying a 5-0 record), Eduard’s stock definitely got a boost by rumours that the UFC is planning to sign him to fight in the lightweight division. That was around two years back when the UFC was then rumoured planning an event in Manila as it continues to expand outside of the US while seeking fighters of diverse nationalities.

Following consecutive losses by Filipino fighters (Vera and Muñoz, in particular) in succeeding UFC editions, those rumours sort of died down. Nonetheless, Eduard continued to generate buzz — a feature on Bloody Elbow sparked a lively discussion among hardcore fans — while racking up wins in the URCC.

So why is he touted as the country’s biggest UFC hope?

Largely because his Wushu background sets him apart from most fighters in the UFC skilled in either Muay Thai, wrestling or Brazilian jiujitsu — or a combination of these three disciplines. Eduard has competed in international tournaments and is a two-time SEA Games gold medallist.

He is part of Team Lakay Wushu, a stable of Baguio-based fighters that regularly compete in the URCC. In particular, Eduard practices Sanshou, a discipline of Wushu focused on fighting, including unorthodox striking and takedown moves, which he displayed during his quick demolition of long-time URCC middleweight champion Caloy Baduria in URCC XII.

“If you combine it with jiujitsu and grappling techniques, it makes you a more refined fighter,” says the 25-year old fighter, a former instructor at the University of the Cordilleras who idolizes UFC welterweight king George Saint Pierre of Canada.

Eduard also credits training in high altitude that makes for a more intense training regimen. “Ibang iba talaga yun hangin di ka masyado tatamarin (The clean air pushes you to train a lot harder),” he says.

Though early in his MMA career, URCC founder Alvin Aguilar himself said Eduard is already in a class of his own.

“There’s no one in the country that can beat him right now,” he says. He predicts Eduard can earn his jiujitsu black belt in less than five years because of his tremendous discipline.

After pitting him against fighters from Guam, Aguilar said the goal is to allow Eduard to build his stock further by fighting abroad, maybe Japan and Hawaii as a stepping stone towards UFC. He says Eduard is a natural lightweight (around 155 pounds), the same weight class as BJ Penn, who, incidentally, hails from Hawaii.

Eduard, though, thinks he is still far from reaching his peak, having been into MMA for only three years now. He says he wants to improve his physical conditioning and techniques fighting from the ground.

“I would need to upgrade my training to reach their level (referring to Vera and Munoz). The sport itself is evolving and there’s a lot of science, even technology, incorporated in training,” he says.