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After winning five-straight outings in astonishing fashion, Multiple-time Wushu World Champion Rene “The Challenger” Catalan feels he is one step closer to reaching his ultimate dream of becoming a Mixed Martial Arts World Titleholder in ONE Championship.
However, he just has to hurdle his biggest obstacle yet in his professional career.
Standing in his way potential World Title shot is former ONE Strawweight World Champion Yoshitaka “Nobita” Naito as they are set to face each other at ONE: REIGN OF VALOR, which emanates from the iconic Thuwunna Indoor Stadium in Yangon, Myanmar this Friday, 8 March.
“Definitely, this is the toughest and biggest match of my career,” Catalan shared, but he insists that he’s not intimidated by his foe.
“Naito is a former World Champion, well-experienced. “We all know how dangerous he is on the mat, but I’m confident with my skills. I will do whatever it takes to win and get my title shot.”
Catalan is probably the hottest competitor in his division, riding high on a five-match winning streak after opening his campaign in ONE Championship with back-to-back losses.
After seven outings in the largest martial arts organization in the world, his mettle as a mixed martial artist will be tested in the form of Naito, who is known for his elite grappling skills and his durability to absorb solid strikes from his opponent.
While Catalan has beaten and dominated grapplers in the past, Naito comes from a different fabric altogether.
According to Catalan, he is not taking the former ONE World Champion lightly, revealing that he has tapped skilled training partners to prepare him for the Japanese’s suffocating submission offense.
“For the past few months, I’ve been focusing on my ground game especially with my takedown defense with the help of our Philippines and SEA Games wrestling champ Roque Verangel Mana-ay Jr,” shared Catalan who was left satisfied with his recent camp.
“This is definitely one of the best camps I had, which is just in time for the most important match of my career.”
The moment that cage door closes, Catalan shares that no one is going stop him from moving closer to his goal to have an intricately-crafted belt around his waist, not even the heavily-favored Naito.
“I’ve been training for these kinds of guys for so long, and I’ve been training hard almost everyday,” he stated.
“I feel good and confident about this match. I will win in Yangon and put myself closer to my dream of becoming a World Champion.”
