Filipino Muay Thai specialist Robin “The Ilonggo” Catalan is back to the drawing board following his latest setback at the hands of Thailand’s Pongsiri “The Smiling Assassin” Mitsatit.
The pair met inside the ONE Championship Circle last Friday, May 17 at ONE: Warriors of Light. After three minutes of action, Mitsatit emerged with a stoppage win after landing a devastating knee to the midsection of Catalan.
While the loss was disheartening, the Manila resident knows there is nothing he can do about it now other than to learn from the experience.
“Even though I lost, I know that I still had a good performance. I just fell short in the end,” the 28-year-old acknowledged.
“I’m sure this loss will help me more, and I’ll only get better after this. There’s no other way but up for my career.”
While “The Ilonggo” remains in high spirits even after falling short against the young Thai star, he can’t help but feel at a loss — especially after coming seemingly close to a submission finish early in the first round.
Catalan even shared that he heard something pop during his heel hook attempt on Mitsatit. But to his surprise, “The Smiling Assassin” did not surrender.
“He’s a very resilient opponent. I heard something pop during that heel hook attempt, but he never tapped,” the Filipino recalled.
“He had amazing control from the clinch and excellent takedown defense. I wasn’t able to maintain my hot start, but nonetheless, I came in as an underdog and almost got rewarded with a win.”
For now, the plan for “The Ilonggo” is simple — get back to the gym, learn from his mistakes, and work so much that he does not have to look back on moral victories anymore.
“I gave it my all, but in the end, I fell short,” he added. “That means it’s back to the grind.
“It’s back to square one in the gym.”
