Team Lakay head coach Mark Sangiao knows that his son Jhanlo Mark Sangiao is on track to contendership, and he expects that with another scintillating performance, he’ll get even closer to the top.
Sangiao takes on Enkh-Orgil Baatarkhuu in a battle between two red-hot bantamweight mixed martial artists at ONE Fight Night 13: Allazov vs. Grigorian on Saturday, August 5, inside Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
According to Sangiao, if his son performs close to how he did in his first three matches, then “The Machine” could be up for consideration in the division’s top five.
“It’s all up to ONE really, but at the end of the day, it’s all about his performance. I’m basing it on how he’ll perform. And with another huge performance, who knows?” Sangiao said.
The 43-year-old believes that it’s all about coming up with a solid game plan that will suit his son’s strengths against the strong and durable Baatarkhuu.
Avoiding a straight-up grind while making use of Sangiao’s explosiveness would be smart.
“Jhanlo will certainly have the speed advantage in this match. I expect him to be faster. Enkh, I expect, will rely on his strength and toughness as he’ll try to grind out a win,” he said.
“That’s how I see this match. I believe we have prepared a good game plan for Jhanlo to execute.”
While Jhanlo is confident that he won’t be tested against Baatarkhuu, his dad and coach sees it the other way, especially with the experience that the Mongolian has over him.
“He’ll certainly be tested. Here, we’ll truly see how ready Jhanlo is,” he said.
“I’ve always been telling my fighters to focus on their next match, win, and make the most out of the opportunity. Whoever’s in front of him, he has to perform. As always, I want to see him come out and perform well.”