It could have been a better night for the Philippines at ONE Warrior Series 9 last Wednesday in Singapore.
Local athletes Allan Albindo and Rocel “The Ilongga” Catalan respectively fell short against their opponents in the developmental league of The Home Of Martial Arts.
Catalan was overwhelmed by Ji Yeon “Honey Bee” Seo, who needed just over a minute to secure the TKO win.
After a brief striking exchange, the South Korean out of Top Gym BF secured a takedown and it was all downhill from there for the Iloilo City native. Ji secured Catalan’s back, and when “The Ilongga” tried to wiggle out, she quickly mounted the Filipina – resulting into some solid ground and pound – and then the stoppage victory.
Still, Catalan is thankful for the opportunity.
“I may not have been able to display my best in [the] fight, but definitely it’s a big learning experience that inspires and motivates me to keep training harder, so I can be able to bounce back stronger,” Catalan said.
Albindo, on the other hand, dropped a close split decision loss to “Prince” Toreq in an action-packed curtain raiser.
The Yaw-Yan Ardigma Cebu standout dropped the Indonesian with a superman punch but just could not capitalize on the momentum.
Toreq eventually recovered his footing in the second round and started to pick Albindo apart with excellent counter-punching and head movement. By the third, it was all Toreq, landing crisp strikes while dancing around Albindo who seemed to be fading as the match stretched on.
By the end of the bout, it was the Indonesian who scored the all-important win as Albindo dropped his second decision loss in OWS.
Though it was not a good night for Filipinos, the proud nation will still have one more representative before the year ends at ONE: MARK OF GREATNESS this Friday, 6 December, at the Axiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur.
Filipina Denice “The Menace Fairtex” Zamboanga battles Jihin “Shadow Cat” Radzuan in one of the featured bouts of the evening.
The preliminary card begins on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and the ONE Super App at 6:00pm Philippine Standard Time (PHT).
To watch the main card, turn to ABS-CBN S+A at 8:30pm PHT.
Or catch all the action live and for free on the ONE Super App.