ONE Championship: Catalan to return to action
Credit to Author: Tempo Online| Date: Tue, 18 Dec 2018 06:18:46 +0000
Rene Catalan (ONE Championship photo)
Joshua “The Passion” Pacio won’t be the only Filipino to represent the country at ONE: ETERNAL GLORY as Robin “The Ilonggo” Catalan will be joining the reigning ONE Strawweight World Champion in hoisting the Philippine flag aloft on the blockbuster card.
Catalan is slated to lock horns against ONE Jakarta Flyweight Tournament Champion Stefer “The Lion” Rahardian in a three-round strawweight showdown on the main card of the aforementioned event, which takes place at the Istora Senayan on 19 January.
The 28-year-old Iloilo City native started his 2018 with on a triumphant note by winning two consecutive matches, including second-round submission victory over Adrian “Papua Badboy” Mattheis at ONE: BATTLE FOR THE HEAVENS last July.
However, he failed to close out the year with another win, bowing to Japanese contender Hayato Suzuki via second-round submission at ONE: KINGDOM OF HEROES this past October.
Catalan looks to reinsert his name into the winner’s circle by getting his hand raised at the expense of Rahardian, who has lost two-straight matches inside the ONE Championship cage.
After starting his mixed martial arts run with nine victories in a row, Rahardian’s exceptional winning streak ended this past July after dropping a unanimous decision to Rene “The Challenger” Catalan at ONE: REIGN OF KINGS.
To compound the misery, Rahardian succumbed to another defeat, this time at the hands of Chinese prospect Peng Xue Wen at ONE: CONQUEST OF HEROES.
Rahardian is eager to break his losing spell and spark an upward trajectory towards the upper echelon of the stacked strawweight division.
More bouts for ONE Championship’s first event in 2019 are expected to be announced in the coming weeks.
ONE: ETERNAL GLORY is headlined by a ONE Strawweight World Championship clash between Pacio and Suzuki.