Jeremy “The Jaguar” Miado’s run in ONE Championship has definitely been a roller coaster ride.
Since joining the promotion in 2017, the Albay native has been inconsistent to the point that he has never won back-to-back fights in ONE.
Can Miado’s move to Marrok Force MMA in Bangkok change his fortunes?
Top women’s atomweight contender Denice Zamboanga would like to believe so, seeing how much Miado has improved since joining their camp.
“He’s doing great and he’s been really working hard in our training,” she said.
“I could say that he is one of the best teammates I have.”
Miado’s entry has brought a positive influence on Marrok Force. He now works with the Zamboanga siblings Denice and Drex, as well as Fritz Biagtan there.
Denice even shared how big of a help the Blaze FC Strawweight Champion has been for her when she was preparing for her quarterfinal match against Ham Seo Hee in the ONE Women’s Atomweight World Grand Prix at ONE: Empower last September, saying, “[Jeremy] is almost in the same weight as me, so he has been very helpful in training me and sparring with me in the lead-up to my last fight.”
Truth be told, Miado seemed like he was always bound to work with the Zamboangas. His wife Chesla is a close friend of Denice’s back in college. It was this connection that led to the two parties to come together for one common goal.
“I told Jeremy, why don’t you try and become a sponsored athlete here in Marrok Force? Because I can see the potential in him and his wife, and I’m happy that they got accepted here,” she said.
And safe to say, Miado’s entry in Marrok Force only reinvigorated the Filipinos there.
“I’m really happy that another Filipino joined us here,” said Denice. “I’m really impressed with his speed and accuracy in his striking. He’s really an effective sparring partner and he’s not selfish in sharing the techniques that he knows to all of us.”
In turn, Marrok Force has also helped Miado finetune his ground game – a key factor if he wants to be one of the contenders in the strawweight division.
That’s why there’s no question in Zamboanga’s mind that Miado should be a must-watch when he returns to the ONE Circle for his rematch against Miao Li Tao at ONE: NEXTGEN on 29 October in Singapore.
“He has really improved his wrestling and grappling game,” testified Denice.
Miado is looking to show that his first round knockout win over Miao at ONE: Age of Dragons back in November 2019 was no fluke. And a repeat win would certainly cement his case for his inclusion in the next update of the ONE athlete rankings.
Photo from ONEFC.com
Zamboanga sure is vouching for his stablemate, saying, “I feel that Jeremy is 100-times better than he was the last time he fought.
“He’s a different breed now.”
