By Kevin Estrada
Team Lakay head coach Mark Sangiao is confident that the future is bright for bantamweight Jeremy Pacatiw after his solid debut at ONE Championship.
The pair met the press Wednesday last week to talk about the Juggernaut’s victory against Chen Rui at ONE: Battleground, which was held in Singapore on July 30.
Sangiao told, “Maganda yung performance ni Jeremy tapos nakuha niya iyong confidence niya sa laban.”
Even with the unanimous decision, coach Mark wanted to see Pacatiw improve his grappling, as he believes that he could have finished off the Chinese fighter earlier in their three-rounder.
“Nakita natin yung first round muntikan na, muntikan nang ma-submit ni Jeremy,” he conceded, as the Ghost’s upper body strength withstood numerous take-downs throughout the fight.
On a scale of ten, coach Mark rated their performance at eight considering that he was yet to reach his peak.
“Pero nakita naman natin maganda yung resulta, so hopefully maganda yung tuloy-tuloy at maganda yung training niya, yung performance niya sa training, nakikita ko na malayo mararating niya sa career niya.”
Meanwhile, Pacatiw echoed his mentor’s sentiment as he had adjusted well into his new promotion.
Apart from its athlete-friendly weight rules, he also pointed out the wider fighting area that enabled him to move freely.
“Malawak yung cage ng ONE,” he remarked. “So parang mas okay yung galaw ko doon, so ginagamit ko yung circle.”
With the bantamweight division stacked with punching power, he believes that a solid ground game is necessary to complement the striking aspect of mixed martial arts.
“Alam naman natin na strikers yung nasa top five. So yun, kailangan natin i-mix yung wrestling, jiu-jitsu para maging successful tayo para matalo yung nasa top five,” He next said.
“Then, kailangan talaga natin mag-purisigi, yung talagang i-work lahat yung aspect–yung martial arts as yung striking, grappling, and wrestling para maging complete fighter tayo.”
Follow the writer on Twitter: @kevinlestrada
