Eduard Folayang's Lions Nation MMA visits Marlon Tapales' training camp, expresses support in Inoue fight

WBA and IBF world super bantamweight champion Marlon Tapales has found a group of believers ahead of his undisputed showdown with Japanese pound-for-pound boxing superstar Naoya Inoue on December 26 at Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan.

Now in the final leg of his training camp in Baguio, Tapales was visited by mixed martial arts superstars Eduard Folayang, Joshua Pacio, Jeremy Pacatiw, and the rest of Lions Nation MMA.

Folayang, who became an MMA world champion in 2016 when he pulled off a huge upset in his third-round technical knockout over Shinya Aoki, sees Tapales in a similar situation as people are counting him out before his showdown with Inoue.

According to the face of Philippine MMA and former ONE lightweight world champion, Tapales has earned the right to face Inoue and is capable of pulling off an upset just like he did in 2016.

“Marlon has to see that he would not get to fight Inoue if he did not work hard for it. He is deserving. People have their judgments, but as a fighter, we have to believe in ourselves,” Folayang said in an exclusive interview on Sparring Sessions.

“We sacrifice so much in training because our goal is to become a world champion. The greatest story is to shock them that there is something you can do that others can't. We are praying for you to prevail in this fight,” he continued.

“You worked hard for this and you are here now. Keep it up and do not pay attention to the negativity from other people. Take it as a motivation that you can do this and prove them wrong. You have the opportunity to get this done and this is your time.”

Former ONE strawweight world champion Joshua Pacio, meanwhile stressed that while Tapales has a number of doubters, he also has countless supporters believing that he can pull off a win in hostile territory.

“God bless to our future undisputed champion Marlon Tapales. There are doubters but you also have many supporters, kuya. Prove them wrong and go get the win,” Pacio said.

—JMB, GMA Integrated News