All those countless hours of hard work in the gym are now starting to payoff for Robin “The Ilonggo” Catalan.
The 28-year-old Muay Thai specialist continues to showcase his improvements in ONE Championship, as he defeated Stefer “The Lion” Rahardian via unanimous decision at ONE: ETERNAL GLORY last Saturday, 19 January.
It marks the Filipino’s third victory in four bouts.
Catalan silenced the partisan crowd at the Istora Senayan in Jakarta, Indonesia last Saturday as he displayed his much-improved grappling and dangerous striking en route to a convincing win.
“No doubt my victory was the result of my hard work and will to win,” he said.
“I trained almost every day to sharpen my tools inside the cage. We were able to do all the things that we planned heading [into] that bout and executed them perfectly.”
Catalan also had a huge advantage heading into the contest, by way of his brother Rene “The Challenger” Catalan.
The oldest of the Catalan siblings knew all about Rahardian, as he was the first to defeat the Indonesian strawweight sensation.
“My brother and the things we worked hard on inside the gym were definitely essential in my victory over Rahardian,” Catalan explained. “My takedown defense was enhanced along with my striking, which was very evident on that evening.”
Now in the best stretch of his career, “The Ilonggo” is brimming with confidence.
In fact, he believes this victory will be the start of something wonderful.
“Seeing positive results inspire you to push yourself more to the limit,” he continued.
“My win in Jakarta is just the beginning. Expect more explosive performances from me this coming 2019. The best is yet to come.”
