The charismatic Dane/Filipino Ole Laursen fights against top prospect Eduard Folayang, a war which will be remembered as one of ONE FC best fights ever. It won the Fight of the Night honors, and was a strong candidate for Fight of the Year. Some people prefers a good old brawl, some likes the grappling aspect and some loves when technique shines through. Well, the best way to describe this showdown would be a “technical brawl”. Let´s go back to March, 2012 and see where our fighters are in their career.
It’s time for the Filipino-Danish fighter Ole Laursen to be featured in the Nordic MMA Flashback serie, this is a man with serious punching power that earned him the nickname ‘Iron Fist‘. Not only does he have the force to knock you out, but his technique is top notch and he is always conditioned for a war. These attributes makes Laursen a fan favourite, and I think this fight will make you a fan if you’re not already.
What has he done up to the point of the fight?
Ole ‘Iron Fist’ Laursen started his thaiboxing career in 2000, and in his second fight he won I.K.F. European title. After that he moved from Copenhagen to San Diego where he finally in 2002 ended up in K-1. He fought his way to the finals at K-1 World MAX 2002 USA tournament, but lost a decision to the former UFC fighter and current Team Alpha Male headcoach Duane Ludwig. Laursen would continue to pursue his kickboxing career with ups and downs, facing opponents like Andy Souwer, Jomhod Kiatadisak, Fadi Merza, Gago Drago, Jean-Charles Skarbowsky, Buakow Por. Pramuk and Masato.
He started his MMA career in 2006 and already a veteran striker his first fight was none other than Japanese superstar Genki Sudo. They fought to a decision but ultimately Laursen lost his debut. Next opponent would not be easier, when he lost to Caol Uno in his second appearance with the K-1 Hero’s promotion. After that he racked up a 5 figh win streak and showed great promise at the time, even impressing many with his grappling skills.
We have another great stand-up fighter in the Filipino Wushu expert Eduard ‘Landslide’ Folayang. A diverse striker that always leaves his heart in the ring, excellent conditioning and a ever improving ground game, in particular his top game. Often described as the Manny Pacquiao of MMA, he’s also a fan favourite with the Filipino people. His parents are natives of Mountain Province where the people are called Igorots, which translates to “mountain people”.
What has he done up to the point of the fight?
Folayang has his base in Wushu, and have won several tournaments, including a gold medal at the 2011 South East Asia Games which he won with a spinning back kick KO in the final. He also won a silver medal in the Doha Asian Games, and two bronze medals in 2005 World Wushu Championship and 2002 Busan Asian Games. His first professional MMA fight was a title fight with URCC, which he won through a TKO stoppage.
The key wins for Eduardo before his meeting with Ole was against a dangerous opponent in South African Vuyisile Colossa and South Korean A Sol Kwon, both were very highly regarded in Asia at the time. But Eduardo didn’t disappoint and even had a great Fight of the Night performance against A Sol Kwon. With two impressive wins Eduardo and only one loss in 12 fights it was time to sign the contract and face his greatest challenge yet.
If you missed our other Nordic MMA Flashback fights, these are the ones you need to catch up on:
– Joachim Hansen vs. Caol Uno from 2005
– Anton Kuivanen vs. Ivan Buchinger from 2011
