The largest global sports media property in Asian history, ONE Championship™ (ONE), recently held an exclusive media day for Baguio City’s famed Team Lakay at the Gloria Maris at Gateway Mall.
It was attended by ONE Lightweight World Champion Eduard “Landslide” Folayang, ONE Bantamweight World Champion Kevin “The Silencer” Belingon, former ONE Flyweight World Champion Geje “Gravity” Eustaquio, former ONE Strawweight World Champion Joshua “The Passion” Pacio and former ONE World Title contender Danny “The King” Kingad.
The team was accompanied by none other than Mark Sangiao, the legendary head coach of Team Lakay.
“It is a great honor for me to be in the main event of ONE Championship’s first-ever event in Japan. Even though for that night, it will be enemy territory for me. I am still very excited to showcase my skills in front of the Japanese fans. Of course, I am also completely focused and determined on keeping the ONE Lightweight World Championship around my waist. I know Shinya Aoki will be coming in very motivated to regain the title, but I have prepared well for this title defense. I will do everything in my power to remain as the champion. I have defeated him before, and I believe I can do it again,” said Folayang.
On the other hand, Belingon, stated: “I am really happy to be part of the biggest ONE Championship card ever, and I am excited to be able to perform for the fans in Japan. This will be the third fight between me and Bibiano Fernandes, and I expect it to be as tough, if not tougher, than our last two meetings. I know Bibiano will be hungry to win back the ONE Bantamweight World Championship, but I am determined to keep the belt with me. If I can beat Bibiano for the second time, I believe it will show that I am a worthy and deserving champion.”
“I am truly grateful that ONE Championship has chosen to put our champions Eduard Folayang and Kevin Belingon, as well as Danny Kingad on their first-ever card in Japan. It shows that they trust our fighters to put on a good show for the Japanese fans. We fully expect it to be a tough night for Eduard, Kevin and Danny, but we have trained hard and prepared well for their upcoming assignments so that we can get favorable results. Eduard and Kevin are completely determined keeping their championships, while Danny is out to prove that he is one of the best flyweight competitors in ONE. We are truly happy to be part of this historic event, and we cannot wait to showcase Team Lakay’s brand of martial arts,” said Sangiao.
Folayang, Belingon and Kingad are set to compete at the highly-anticipated ONE: A New Era, which takes place at the iconic Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo, Japan on March 31.
In the main event, Folayang will defend his ONE Lightweight World Title against Japanese legend Shinya “Tobikan Judan” Aoki in a much-awaited rematch of their November 2016 encounter. Meanwhile, Belingon will put his ONE Bantamweight World Championship on the line against Bibiano “The Flash” Fernandes of Brazil in a trilogy match. Furthermore, Kingad is booked to take on fellow former ONE World Title challenger Andrew Leone of the United States in a quarter-final bout of the ONE Flyweight World Grand Prix
Pacio is also slated to return to action as he will face newly-minted ONE Strawweight World Champion Yosuke “Tobizaru” Saruta of Japan in a rematch at ONE: Roots of Honor, set on April 12 at the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila, Philippines.