Cyborg lauds Eduard Folayang and Joshua Pacio for leaving “comfort place” to improve

Women’s MMA GOAT Cris Cyborg commended Eduard Folayang and Joshua Pacio for leaving the familiar confine of Team Lakay in an effort to improve themselves.

Earlier this year, Folayang and Pacio, two cornerstones of Team Lakay in the Philippines, walked away from the gym in what ultimately turned out to be a mass exodus from the long-celebrated gym. ‘Landslide’ and ‘The Passion’ were joined by Kevin Belingon and Honorio Banario, two other former ONE world champions, in leaving the gym.

Speaking with The MMA Superfan, reigning Bellator women’s featherweight champion Cris Cyborg complemented Eduard Folayang and Joshua Pacio for recognizing that they had deficiencies that needed to be addressed, thus prompting their exit from Team Lakay:

“You know, all the time when you lose fights, you know, it’s time to think about what you have to improve,” Cyborg said. “You see it already, they got out of their comfort place and come to another place to improve and learn.”

Watch the full interview below:

Folayang, a former ONE lightweight world champion, has struggled to find the win column in recent years. After beginning his tenure with ONE Championship going 11-4, including a world title win over Japanese legend Shinya Aoki, ‘Landslide’ has dropped seven of his last eight bouts in MMA, including five-straight defeats. Folayang, 39, is undeniably on the back end of his career, but clearly, the Filipino fan favorite feels that he still has something left in the tank.

Joshua Pacio has fared much better in recent years. As a five-time ONE world champion’ The Passion’ has established himself as one of the best strawweights in the world. However, a decisive unanimous decision defeat at the hands of newly crowned champion Jarred ‘The Monkey God’ Brooks has Pacio reassessing his skill set, hence his exit from the gym that helped him become a world champion.