March 29, 2024

Former mixed martial arts world champion Honorio Banario will be back in action Feb. 28, this time returning to his original weight class against a veteran Thai opponent.
The 30-year-old Banario, former ONE featherweight world champion, will face Shannon Wiratchai in a predictable battle at ONE:King of the Jungle in Singapore.
The past four years saw Banario fighting in the lightweight division together with his teammate, former two-time world champion Eduard Folayang, where he nailed a sensational winning streak.
Banario has sealed six wins against five losses in the lightweight division before he opted to go back to his natural weight class.
Banario and Wiratchai have been mainstays of The Home of Martial Arts since its first year in business, but remarkably, neither Banario nor any of his Team Lakay stablemates have ever faced the veteran from Bangkok.
Although he recognized Wiratchai to be a tough nut to crack, Banario is hopeful he has worked out a way to recapture the form that took him to ONE featherweight world titles and begin another winning run toward the top.
Ahead of his assignment at the Singapore Indoor Stadium, he explained how he plans to do that, as well as his reasons for the big change in his career and his goals for 2020.
“I know that Shannon has prepared really well for this match, and I am confident that my training is also not lacking, so this should be an all-out war. We are both looking to rebound, so we will see just who is hungrier to get that victory,” Banario said.
“We’ve been training since our last match in October. I am ready to compete anytime because I never stopped training.”
“I feel like I will be in my best condition come fight night, so expect 100 percent from me when I compete,” he added. 
Banario now has 14 wins and 10 losses while Wiratchai has nine wins and five losses. – Harley F. Palangchao