Jeremy “The Juggernaut” Pacatiw was quick to introduce himself to ONE Championship, but in Asia’s largest martial arts organization, you have to beat some of the best to be considered among them.
And at ONE: FULL CIRCLE, the 25-year-old stud from Team Lakay will do just that as he takes on #4-ranked contender Fabricio “Wonder Boy” Andrade. The event takes place on 25 February, live from the Singapore Indoor Stadium.
It’s a career-defining match for Pacatiw and one that his coach Mark Sangiao is looking forward to.
“Fabricio Andrade is one of the best [here at ONE Championship],” he said.
Sangiao, however, argued that as high as the Brazilian bantamweight is in the official bantamweight rankings, Pacatiw has certainly fought a lot tougher foes in the past.
“He’s not the toughest opponent that Jeremy will face. If you try to check Jeremy’s fight record before he joined ONE, you can see a list of ace fighters that Jeremy encountered in his career up to this date,” he stated.
Before he made his debut in ONE last year, Pacatiw has been thrown into the wringer in his past promotions where he fought some of the best on offer and came out victorious.
Even when he finally made the jump, “The Juggernaut” was just as fierce, imposing his will on Chen “The Ghost” Rui with a dominant unanimous decision triumph at ONE: BATTLEGROUND back in July.
Active inside the ONE Circle, the Filipino fighter left his Chinese opponent in a daze while displaying Team Lakay’s improved ground game with two superb takedowns in the first two rounds.
Yet as critical as Sangiao is of Andrade’s threat to Pacatiw, the decorated mentor also gave “Wonder Boy” props as they expect another hard-fought match come fight night.
“Fabricio is fully-equipped, so it’s vital that we don’t spot-train or spot-focus. We need to be ready in all ways,” he said, aware of Andrade’s five-fight win streak including an impressive first round technical knockout win over “The Underdog” Li Kai Wen at ONE: WINTER WARRIORS 2 back in December.
Andrade punished Li with a barrage of punches in that fight that forced the referee to call the bout with 19 seconds left in round one.
But like their approach is in every fight, Sangiao is emphasizing the need to focus on Pacatiw’s own strengths, noting, “We consider every single match that we have as a chance for us to show how Team Lakay is relentlessly progressing.”
“Jeremy is on the nail when it comes to his training and preparations. Though he just came from his medical operation recovery, this did not bother him at all and he still went hard on his training for this upcoming fight,” he continued. “Jeremy is an athlete that matches his opponent’s dance. When his opponent is not that explosive then Jeremy mirrors him. When he is facing a fierce one, then be ready to see a fierce Jeremy. The Juggernaut has his own rhythm and he adjusts and adapts according to the music of his rival.”
Sangiao also believes that a massive triumph over Andrade should propel Pacatiw to new heights, hopefully to join his peers Stephen “The Sniper” Loman, who is currently at #3, and former ONE Bantamweight World Champion Kevin “The Silencer” Belingon, who sits at #5, in the top five of the bantamweight contenders in ONE Championship.
“A victory for Jeremy in this match will be monumental. Who is occupying the 4th spot in the ranking? It’s Fabricio Andrade. So if the tide will go with us, then Jeremy will surely earn himself a place in the top ranking athletes,” he said.