For some athletes, it takes a while to move on from a loss, especially when a World Title was on the line.
But ONE Championship strawweight contender Rene “The Challenger” Catalan is not your average athlete.
Fresh off a second-round submission loss to ONE Strawweight World Champion Joshua “The Passion” Pacio at ONE: Masters of Fate, the 40-year-old now turns his focus to the upcoming Southeast Asian Games, where he is representing the Philippines in sambo.
“Losing in my first World Title bid hurts because I know I trained hard for that match. But that’s part of being an athlete. I gained a lot of experience from there, and I am ready to work my way to the top and compete once more,” Catalan said.
“Now, my focus is on the SEA Games because I want to bring home another gold medal to the Philippines. It will also give me the necessary momentum heading into 2020 because I have a lot of plans for next year.”
A winner wherever he goes, “The Challenger” looks to bring that successful energy as he marks his return to the biennial games. The Iloilo City native last won a gold medal in this meet in 2005, though he was competing in wushu.
Make no mistake, though — the founder of the Catalan Fighting System is no stranger to sambo. He previously won a gold medal in the 2018 Southeast Asian Sambo Championship in Indonesia.
“Winning the gold medal in the SEA Games will only prove the winning mentality that I always have, and it will show how hungry I am for more victories,” Catalan said.
“There won’t be an easy match here, but if you come in prepared, you’ll have a better chance of winning. I know they will come at me hard, but they’ll see the difference in my mentality when we meet.”
Catalan may not end the year as a ONE World Champion, but at least he gets another shot at gold.
“What’s important is to take home the gold for my country, which will only give me more confidence when I go back to ONE next year.”
For one last time this year, ONE Championship returns to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia for ONE: MARK OF GREATNESS at the Axiata Arena on December 6.
Catch all the action live and for free on the ONE Super App.
