Team Lakay fighters Jhanlo Mark Sangiao and Jeremy Pacatiw earned impressive victories in the undercards of ONE 164, as they also walked out of the Mall of Asia Arena with $50,000 each performance bonus.
The 20-year-old Sangiao, son of Team Lakay founder Mark Sangiao, is the first fighter from the famed mixed martial arts gym to win the performance bonus.
The Team Lakay prodigy only needed one minute and 48 seconds to seal the victory via rear-naked choke of fellow Filipino compatriot Anacleto Lauron in their catchweight bout.
The bout was supposed to be cancelled after Lauron failed to make weight. For the bout to proceed, both fighters must agree with Sangiao being entitled to take part of Lauron’s purse as a penalty.
Sangiao declined to take any of Lauron’s fight purse, as he only wanted the fight to proceed even if his opponent is slightly heavier.
Lauron opened the fight with a flying knee – but it was all Sangiao from there.
Nicknamed “The Machine”, Sangiao swiftly took the fight to the ground, worked his way to the back, and closed the show with a rear-naked choke to improve his record to five wins with no loss.
Pacatiw, meanwhile, brought the Manila crowd to its feet with a sensational second-round triangle choke submission of Tial Thang of Myanmar in their bantamweight bout.
After an action-packed first round, Pacatiw latched onto a tight triangle choke early in the second round to secure the first finish of his ONE Championship career and a well-deserved bonus.
The pride of Kapangan, Benguet improved his MMA record to 12 wins and six losses.
The first Filipino to win a performance bonus was Erik Kelly of Baguio City when he fought Rob Lisita of Australia in a bloody brawl in July 2014 in Taipei, Taiwan. – Harley F. Palangchao
