Slump continues for Eduard Folayang in decision loss to Chinese foe

MANILA, Philippines — Filipino mixed martial arts veteran Eduard Folayang continued his losing streak in ONE Championship when he absorbed a unanimous decision loss to China's Zhang Lipeng in ONE: Battleground II in Singapore.

A tape-delayed event broadcasted Friday, Folayang recorded his fourth loss in a row, and the sixth in his last seven fights.

The 37-year-old had trouble against the more aggressive Lipeng who was out to prove a statement in his ONE Championship debut.

Lipeng caught Folayang in takedowns in the opening round, where the Filipino was stuck on the defensive, with Lipeng going to a ground-and-pound strategy.

The Team Lakay fighter would be able to adjust accordingly, though, in the latter rounds and defend well against Lipeng's takedowns. 

This while also being able to land some solid kicks and punches with the fight staying on the feet.

But a last gasp takedown by Lipeng in the final seconds of round three that resulted in the Chinese gaining side control over Folayang was enough to tip the scales to his favor.

Folayang and Lipeng's bout was the main event in the second installment of the Battleground series of ONE Championship.

In the earlier fights, former ONE Strawweight World Champion Alex Silva defeated Miao Li Tao via unanimous decision while the heavyweight bout between Thomas Narmo and Alain Ngalani was declared a no contest due to an accidental injury.

The first two fights of the night did not go the distance as Rahul Raju submitted Otgonbaatar Nergui via rear naked choke in the second round.

Eko Roni Saputra, for his part, tallied a quick knockout of Liu Peng Shuai where he just needed 10 seconds in the opening round to finish off his opponent.