Team Lakay’s Jerry “Bokodian Warrior” Olsim suffered the first loss of his professional career after dropping a unanimous decision to Ryoji Kudo in the co-main event of Rich Franklin’s ONE Warrior Series 8 in Tokyo, Japan on Saturday, 5 October.
While it was certainly a tough loss for “Bokodian Warrior,” the Baguio City native chalks it up to experience and hopes the setbacks for Team Lakay stop at him.
Olsim's teammates – Kevin "The Silencer” Belingon, Danny "The King" Kingad, Honorio "The Rock" Banario, and Lito "Thunder Kid" Adiwang – compete in ONE Championship's historic two-show event, ONE: CENTURY, on 13 October at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo, Japan.
“I really have no reason to be down because I learned a lot against Kudo,” Olsim said. “But I feel like all the disappointment will dissipate if the team gets good results next Sunday.”
The 24-year-old admits he was caught off-guard with a lot of things against his Japanese foe, who surprised him with movement and power.
“I know Kudo is a fantastic athlete but I didn’t expect his footwork to be that good. His stand-up game is great as well, and I was caught off guard with his strength,” Olsim said.
Looking back, the Bokod, Benguet native sees some things he could have done to avoid that loss.
“To be honest, there are a lot of regrets in my performance. I should have added more pressure in my attack,” he added. “But I accept the fact that there will be setbacks. I realized the things that I need to work on more.”
Nonetheless, the Team Lakay representative remains optimistic of his future – the same way he is optimistic that his team will conquer the world with jaw-dropping performances in the promotion’s marquee show.
“I know it’s not my time to enter the main roster yet, but I believe that I will be there in time,” Olsim said.
“I lost, but I learned a lot. Now it’s time for me to come out and support my brothers who will be competing for our country next week.”
Catch ONE: CENTURY, the biggest World Championship martial arts event in history. No organization has ever promoted two full-scale World Championship events in one day, with 28 World Champions competing in multiple World Title bouts.
PART I airs live at 11:00am Philippine Standard Time (PHT) on Sunday, 13 October. TV5 will cut-in to live broadcast 10:30 am.
PART II airs on ABS-CBN S+A or Cignal TV at 6:30pm Philippine Standard Time (PHT). TV5 will show the special delay live at 9:30pm PHT.
All preliminary matches air on ONE’s Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube accounts.