John Wayne Parr On Retirement Fight At ONE X: ‘It's Going To Be Very Emotional'

Bengaluru, March 22: After a career that spanned nearly three decades, John Wayne "The Gunslinger" Parr will compete one last time.

He will face fellow legend and former ONE Lightweight World Champion Eduard "Landslide" Folayang in his retirement fight at ONE X on Saturday (March 26), at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

A win for the Australian will give him exactly 100 career victories - a feat that he wants to achieve by any means. However, he's not being complacent because of his opponent's wushu sanda base.

While most fans are pulling for his victory because the fight will be under his speciality of Muay Thai, he has nothing but high regard for the Team Lakay mainstay. Therefore, he's training as hard as ever to go out on a high note.

"I'm very excited for the opportunity to share the Circle with Eduard Folayang. It excites me to finish my career on a high against a legitimate champion. It makes me motivated to wake up in the morning and train hard," the 45-year-old competitor said.

Aside from his foe's striking, Folayang's unpredictability will keep Parr on his toes. Therefore, Parr will attack with purpose by picking his shots wisely.

"I have to get my timing right so I don't walk into anything silly. Not to be too cautious, but I have to be very wary of where I'm at the whole time - range, distancing," the Boonchu Gym representative shared.

"So, the advantage of this fight is that he's coming into my world instead of me getting into his. I'm going to pick my shots and get the win."

As he strives for victory against the Filipino mixed martial arts legend during ONE Championship's tenth-anniversary show, Parr can't help but reminisce about his journey.

But after winning ten kickboxing and Muay Thai world titles, he knows that it's time to step away from being a combatant and focus on preparing the next generation of fighters in ONE Super Series. In fact, when his fight versus Folayang winds down, he might not be able to hold his emotions in place.

"There's probably going to be a tear down the cheek. It could be very sad. The bottom lip could be quivering. It's going to be very emotional," Parr said. "I'm just going to try to soak it all up. This is the last time that I'll get to hear that applause, so I want to make the most of it."

There are no tomorrows for his fighting career after ONE X. That's why he wants to leave the sport that gave so much to him with a victory.

"I'm going to make sure that every I is dotted, every T is crossed, and I do everything I can to make sure that I sail off into the sunset riding my unicorn," he said.

Watch ONE X: Grand Finale live on watch.onefc.com at 5:30 pm IST on March 26.

Meanwhile, Watch ONE X: Part II will be available on Star Sports Select 2 or Disney+ Hotstar at 2:30 pm IST.

Finally, Watch ONE X: Part I live on Star Sports Select 2 or Disney+ Hotstar at 10:30 am IST.

Source: Media Release