Jenelyn Olsim is counting down the days until she gets to fight in front of her compatriots for the first time under the ONE Championship banner.
Olsim will compete at the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila, Philippines, against Meng Bo in a strawweight MMA bout on the lead card of ONE 164: Pacio vs. Brooks on 3 December.
The Team Lakay warrior emerged as one of the newest local stars in The Home of Martial Arts during the pandemic, but she’s never had the chance to compete in Manila – at least not until now.
“Ever since I competed in ONE, I never experienced competing in front of a crowd. This is the first time that I’ll be competing in a card with a jam-packed crowd,” Olsim said.
“Now it’s here, and I’m excited to compete in front of my friends and family. Of course there’s a bit of pressure, but I’m still more excited than pressured. I’m happy to be in this position.”
Not only will she be making her Mall of Asia debut, she’ll also be doing it with the rest of her team when ONE returns to the Philippines for the first time in three years.
“I’m proud to be a part of this. It motivates me to be better. The support that we’ve been getting [entering this event] is inspiring, it makes me want to be better,” she said.
“When you hear things like they’re being inspired by us, it makes me want to do better. Hearing those things feels good.”
Against Meng, Olsim will have to look out for the power shots of her Chinese counterpart, as 13 of her 19 wins have come from finishes.
At the end of the day, the Filipina plans to show all her skills, as she’ll test Meng wherever the match goes and even try for a submission.
“The game plan is to showcase my entire skills. I’ll go toe-to-toe with her in striking, then I want to test her skills on the ground,” Olsim said.
“For me, I want to get that submission. I want to get that finish.”
Tickets for ONE Fight Night 5 and ONE 164: Pacio vs. Brooks at the Mall of Asia Arena on 3 December are available at https://linktr.ee/ONEPH.
