Team Lakay chief strategist Mark Sangiao has been a busy man these last three months.
During that span, he has prepared all four world champions of his camp and seen two of them fall in a span of a month to start the year. Moreover, his mixed martial artists – who are contenders or upstarts – also had bouts during that time.
But come Sunday, March 31, the biggest night for the Philippines’ most successful camp takes place. Two of his world champions will defend their crowns, while another one looks to advance in the historic Flyweight Grand Prix during ONE: A New Era in Tokyo, Japan.
Going around Japan, Sangiao could not help but be in awe of the rich martial arts tradition of Japan.
“The feeling is different, especially in an event this big. There’s a different kind of aura in this event, and that’s why now I understand why they’re filling the Saitama (Super Stadium) back then,” said the former mixed martial artist known as the Terminator.
“When it comes to the fights on Sunday, the boys are ready.”
In the main event, Eduard Folayang (21-6) will defend his ONE Lightweight World Championship against Shinya Aoki (42-8).
Ever since losing to Folayang and, later on, Ben Askren in November of 2017, the Japanese grappler has been on a tear, winning his last three bouts via first round submissions. And Sangiao is wary of Aoki’s hot starts.
“It won’t go to the final bell. Almost all of Aoki’s fights end in the first round. If he doesn’t finish you in the first round, most times he loses. That’s what we see in him. I know we prepared for them,” disclosed Sangiao.
“We haven’t seen Eduard tap out due to submission, so I think we’ll have a good chance.”
On the other hand, ONE Bantamweight World Champion Kevin Belingon looks to end his rivalry with Bibiano Fernandes (22-4).
Unlike their second match back in November of 2018, which ended in a split decision result, Sangiao is confident that the hard-hitting Team Lakay striker will put an emphatic end to this bout.
“He keeps on moving forward, he gets hit by Kevin in that fight. I believed that Kevin won that fight, but now we’re more equipped to battle him and let’s see how this match ends,” opined Sangiao.
“The prediction? There’s gonna be a finish.”
Early in the night for the 15-deep fight card, Danny Kingad (11-1) will face off against Japanese boxer Senzo Ikeda (12-6-1) in the opening round of the Grand Prix.
Though Ikeda is an eight-fight pro in the sport of boxing, Sangiao is more than confident that nothing can beat a Filipino boxer.
“I don’t see him as a boxer, but he knows how to use his distance. That’s what we’re preparing for. If boxing alone, I think Filipinos are better boxers,” gushed Sangiao.
“He really wants to stand and trade. Back then, he got clipped by Yuya [Wakamatsu], but the kid is very hungry, that’s why he recovers well. If you see his work ethic, he’s amazing,” Sangiao remarked about the young buck of Team Lakay.
“He’s an animal.”
Come Sunday, it’s make or break time for Team Lakay. A losing sweep would whitewash everything they worked hard for in 2018. But if Folayang and Belingon retain while Kingad advances, well, Team Lakay would remain as the top dogs in Asian MMA.
