By Jun Ray Navarres
Team Lakay showcased new and upcoming fighters dubbed as the “New Blood” in 2022 under the ONE Championship banner. Among these new generation of athletes, Stephen Loman outshined everyone else.
The Sniper swiftly showed his teeth to the bantamweight division, assassinating the veterans of the weight class.
“[2022] brought me some of the biggest victories of my career, and I achieved my goals to take everything step by step, move my way up in the rankings, and beat some of the biggest names in the division. That year was a very good achievement for me,” shared Loman.
“I’d look at it as a very good year.”
Loman made quick fix of former #3 ranked Yusup Saadulaev, finishing the fight before the bell of the first round. He then followed his stellar performance with another win against Shoko Sato.
Loman then capped his 2022 with a dominating performance against the former division belt holder Bibiano Fernandes and despite continuously ending up victorious at the end of the night, he kept on absorbing all the knowledge he could during the fight.
“I’ve learned a lot this year. Having fought both Shoko Sato and Bibiano Fernandes, I’ve seen that there will be no easy fights here. Both of them are veterans, and I’ve had to step up my game quickly,” said the current #3-ranked bantamweight.
“This year also taught me to push harder, persevere, knowing that the ones that I’ll be facing here are high-level veterans, so I have to push hard during training.”
Now he only has one way – forward, continuously pushing himself for the new year.
“My goal in 2023 is to stay active, stay in tip-top condition, and the most important of it all, capture the championship belt. [I want] a chance to compete for that belt and bring that belt home,” said Loman.
Though he may have to wait for some time before he could have a shot at the belt since Fabricio Andrade and John Lineker will still have to duke it out in February to see who will claim the ONE Bantamweight World Title.
Despite this, Loman will be ready for who is to come.
Follow the writer on Twitter: @burnsports
