Team Lakay lynchpin Mark Sangiao will be shouldering double duties this April.
Apart from coaching his eldest son, Jhanlo Sangiao, in the bout against Argentina’s Matias Farinelli at ONE Fight Night 9 on the morning of April 22, he will also be sitting in the corner for the return to action of Adonis Sevilleno the night before.
An insider told Tiebreaker Times that 29-year-old Cebuano is penciled to square off with Mongolia’s Enkh-Orgil Baatarkhuu in a three-round bantamweight clash on the undercard of ONE Friday Fights 14 on April 21.
Sevilleno, who holds a 2-3 professional record, earned a multi-fight deal worth $100,000 with ONE Championship after outlasting 15 other competitors on the ONE Warrior Series Philippines reality television show that aired from September to November last year.
He then made his promotional debut back in December, engaging in a hard-fought battle against former URCC bantamweight titleholder Drex Zamboanga.
Both men went back-and-forth, swapping solid blows and momentum-shifting takedowns from bell to bell. Neither of the two would give each other any quarter for three rounds as the two traded their best offense all throughout the match.
But in the end, Zamboanga walked away with the unanimous decision to spoil his compatriot’s maiden appearance on the main roster.
At ONE Friday Fights 14, Sevilleno finds himself on the road to redemption. However, Baatarkhuu poses to be a daunting speed bump on his way to breaking into the win column.
Baatarkhuu, 34, tugged a six-figure contract with the organization last November with a walk-off, one-punch knockout of compatriot Bat-Ochir Batsaikhan in the grand finals of the Road To ONE: Mongolia.
In addition, the Mongolian spitfire totes a 7-2 win-loss card with two victories by way of knockout and two via submission.
Recently, Baatarkhuu garnered a vote of confidence from mixed martial arts legend Rich Franklin following his highlight-reel victory that led him to be signed by ONE Championship.
“I’m very excited for Enkh-Orgil’s future. He is a special talent and a very deserving winner, and I expect him to make waves in ONE Championship,” said Rich Franklin, who also serves as the company’s vice president.
Sevilleno may be taking a great risk in his next outing, but a huge payoff awaits him, and it all begins by vanquishing a top-caliber opposition like Baatarkhuu.
