By CARLO ANOLIN
Two Filipino fighters from the Catalan Fighting System are all set to wage “mother of all battles” in Friday’s ONE: Big Bang at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.
Both mentor and student will see action in the Circle as No. 3 strawweight Rene Catalan and atomweight Jomary Torres take on their respective undefeated opponents.
Catalan, founder of Makati-based mixed martial arts stable Catalan Fighting System, will face South African wrestler Bokang Masunyane while Torres will lock horns with another wrestling champion in Ritu Phogat of India.
Fighting under the same card, Torres said nothing much has changed for both of their gameplans but being alongside her coach gave an extra boost entering into the bout.
“Gagawin ko ‘yung lahat para makuha ko ‘yung win,” said Torres, who seeks a comeback win following four consecutive losses and a no-contest declaration since 2018. “Di ko alam if how many rounds. Basta, I’ll do my best para manalo sa Pilipinas.”
Catalan, who will turn 42 next week, is eyeing a knockout win.
For her part, Torres needs to counter the wrestling prowess of Phogat to prevail.
Despite the short notice, Catalan accepted the offer from ONE Championship as a replacement for the highly-touted flyweight bout between Team Lakay’s Danny Kingad and Kairat Akhmetov of Afghanistan after a Team Lakay cornerman tested positive for COVID-19.
“For Jomary’s fight, I told her always to think that this is the last chance,” said the No. 3 strawweight contender. “I told her that she needs to show to ONE Championship, to the audience to fight strong and just think always for her family. We’ve already set the gameplan, we already told her to stay in the gameplan.”
Torres, who has a 4-4 record, was unfortunate last January in ONE: Fire & Fury following a no-contest declaration against Jenny Huang of Taiwan due to an accidental low blow while Phogat displayed wrestling mastery in all of her three fights, but scored technical knockouts against Nam Hee Kim last November 2019 and Nou Srey Pov last October.
Meanwhile, Catalan, holding a 6-3 record since 2013, tries to defy age against a younger opponent in 26-year-old Masunyane, who owns a 7-0 card including a successful ONE Championship debut last year.
