"It's all about formulating counters" - Eduard Folayang says Denice Zamboanga must find a way around Stamp's strengths
Former ONE lightweight MMA king Eduard Folayang has the perfect game plan for Denice Zamboanga to leave ONE 167 as the new atomweight MMA queen.
The 40-year-old martial arts icon stresses that the No.2-ranked contender must play to her strengths and time everything to perfection to stand a better chance of upsetting the three-sport superstar inside the Impact Arena on June 7.
Eduard Folayang told ABS-CBN:
'It will all boil down to formulating a good game plan entering this fight. They already know that Stamp's a proven striker, so it's all about formulating counters for her strengths."
Having spent the bulk of his career competing alongside the most elite names in the world's largest martial arts organization, the Igorot MMA legend has built an eye for the game from a coach's perspective.
Though he hasn't been able to turn back the clock in recent times, the Lions Nations MMA founder has been guiding the next generation of talents, former ONE world champions, and reigning ONE strawweight MMA kingpin Joshua Pacio at his new base.
He, however, is always willing to lend a helping hand or advise fellow Filipinos who ply their trade under the ONE banner, and that only goes to show why 'Landslide' has long been regarded as a true legend of the sport in the Philippines.
Eduard Folayang believes Joshua Pacio's world title win at ONE 166: Qatar can inspire the next generation
Eduard Folayang sat in Joshua Pacio's corner as the latter ran it back with divisional king Jarred Brooks for the strawweight MMA world title at ONE 166: Qatar on March 1.
Although Pacio reclaimed his throne via DQ due to an unintentional spike from 'The Monkey God's' end, the 40-year-old legend maintains that his longtime stablemate deserves recognition as the reigning kingpin.
Above all, he's excited to see how 'The Passion's' success can touch the hearts of future fighters, as he relayed to the Inquirer:
"I think it's very important especially once you start talking about inspiration. We have a lot of young talents. And they want to be champions. Seeing a belt in the flesh will get them disciplined, [make them] work even harder."