LAST week we talked about the star attractions of ONE: X, ONE Championship’s super big event for 2022 that celebrates its ten years of existence in the MMA universe.
This week we’re looking into the attractions closest to our Pinoy hearts: the blockbuster match-ups involving our Pinoy heroes and heroine: Eduard Folayang, Lito Adiwang, Jeremy Miado and Denice Zamboanga.
So much hype has already been heaped on ONE: X, it being a spectacle of hard-hitting and intriguing match-ups. The most lethal knockout artists, it is said, will see action in the event, with explosive Igorot MMA star Lito Adiwang taking on the high-riding Jeremy Miado, for one.
It is a rare match-up to be sure. Pinoy vs. Pinoy is a rare occurrence in the ONE Circle, with the last one in memory being Joshua Pacio vs. Rene Catalan in 2019. Lakay former ONE Featherweight World Champion Honorio Banario tangled with compatriot Eric Kelly in 2013.
This 2022 version is particularly interesting because besides the head-on collision of the high-spirited Adiwang and the bull-strong and currently surging Miado, the encounter could also very well be a battle of training camps.
Adiwang belongs to the fabled Team Lakay of Baguio City that has been part of ONE’s stellar cast since it began almost 11 years ago. Miado who ran his own gym in the past now trains out of Marrok Force in Bangkok, Thailand, and since then has been nothing short of unstoppable.
Adiwang is exciting to watch because he is fearless, utterly kinetic, and unforgiving once he’s let loose in the Circle. Miado is tenacious, calculating and packed with powerful punches.
Miado is 29. Adiwang will have just turned 29 on the day of their fight. He celebrates his birthday on March 23. As they say it in Pinoy game circles: “match na match.”
Another bout begging to be watched is the sequel to the September 2021 clash between Denice “Lycan Queen” Zamboanga (formerly called “The Menace”) and South Korean Ham Seo Hee, touted to be the female version of Wanderlei “The Axe Murderer” Silva because of the similarities in their fighting styles.
We all know how that panned out – with Denice being reduced to tears in the post fight presscon because the judges gave the deciding nod to Ham, whom the Pinay fighter said she had managed to overpower in the closing ticks of the last round. ONE Championship chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong even intervened and elevated the match to the ONE competition committee for review, but in the end the judges’ decision was upheld.
Well, this time, we get to see who really is the superior martial artist between the two. “I’m okay now and I’ve moved on from that decision. I’m using that to push myself to train more,” Denice said, adding that “the match will be a stepping stone for me to finally be given a chance to challenge the champion”.
The ONE: X winner could next fight the winner of the Angela Lee-Stamp Fairtex world atomweight title fight.
Lastly, all eyes will be on iconic Pinoy hero Eduard Folayang, two-time ONE Lightweight World Champion and pride of the Cordilleras who has been given a most intriguing assignment: be the opponent of Muay Thai legend John Wayne Parr on his retirement fight.
Going up against a legend on his last battle is a task loaded with big emotions. It will be another uphill battle for the Lakay warrior, who is chasing a second coming in ONE after losing his recent fights, some of them in just unlucky fashion.
Folayang has to swim against the tide of send-off sentiments for a retiring legend and also navigate his way in the art of eight limbs. Although he has solid kickboxing roots, playing under Muay Thai rules where the 8-point striking system adds the use of elbows and knees to the use of just kicks and punches is a new challenge to the unwavering warrior.
But Folayang, the only ONE fighter still active after ONE’s inaugural fight, Champion vs. Champion in 2011, is not fazed by the challenge.
Folayang thrives on challenges. “Fighting a legend before he retires is a big honor. I enjoy the challenge as a martial artist. The bigger the challenge, the more we are being pushed. I will be fighting him in his territory. We’ll see how fast we can adjust in fighting Parr in his sport.”
“The best is reserved for those who persevere,” he said. “It’s not yet over. There’s still a lot to be showcased.”