Jhanlo Sangiao suffers first ONE Championship setback

Back to the drawing board for Jhanlo Sangiao, as he suffered his first defeat in ONE Championship on Saturday at ONE Fight Night 13: Allazov vs Grigorian at Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok.

The Machine was forced to tap to Enkh-Orgil Baatarkhuu at the 2:53 mark of the second round, after being tagged with a right elbow to start it. The Mongol bantanweight then started to work with his right arm, setting the table for the eventual win.

The 21-year old was building on a strong start to the fight, using his array of strikes to do damage, managing to bloody Baatarkhuu's right eye. However, the veteran kept his bearings and remained focused on securing a submission victory.

Afterwards, he gave Sangiao credit. "I wish him the best. He’s a promising young athlete."

The defeat drops him to 6-1 in his developing MMA career, becoming the second Filipino that Baatarkhuu has dispatched, joining Adonis Sevilleno who suffered a unanimous decision defeat back in April.

Jhanlo Sangiao potentially the new face of Team Lakay

 

new face of Team Lakay?

With all the changes that has happened involving Team Lakay, led by the departure of its veteran charges, it is no surprise that Jhanlo Sangiao is being looked now as the outfit's new face.

However, "The Machine" acknowledges that he still has a long way to go, sharing that "Kung sabihin nila na ako yung bagong face ng Team Lakay, pasalamat lang ako pero pinagtatrabahuan ko naman lahat ng ito."

He adds, "Nagte-training lang ako at ine-enjoy ko lang ito. Ipapakita ko kung ano yung kaya ko sa loob ng Circle. Yun lang naman yung goal ko eh."

The bantamweight will get to prove his point when he goes up against Enkh-Orgil Baatarkhuu in the undercard of ONE Fight Night 13: Allazov vs Grigorian, which takes place on August 5 at the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, one that he expressed confidence in securing the victory.

Jhanlo is on a three-match winning streak, including a 58-second submission against Matias Farinelli at ONE Fight Night 9: Nong-O vs Haggerty this past April.

With stablemate Carlos Alvarez coming off a second round submission victory over Sadegh Ghasemi at ONE Friday Fights 25 recently, he hopes that this is the start of the turnaround for the Baguio-based group.

Sangiao says, "Medyo nae-excite ako kasi nanalo yung isang teammate namin, si Carlos. Naha-hype na rin ako na lumaban ulit. Nakakatulong din na puro bago ang sparring partners ko kaya energized lahat. Mas focused kami ngayon sa gameplan."

Mark Sangiao, Team Lakay founder and father of Jhanlo, is just glad that the new generation of fighters under his stable remain steadfast and committed.

The elder Sangiao shares, "Our next generation of Team Lakay fighters are doing okay for the most part. I can see them working hard and they’re doing their training every day. That’s just how I see it. They train hard and the attendance has been solid."

From their perspective, Mark reflects, "Sa amin naman, tulungan lang talaga ang bawat isa. Kung sino ang may kailangan ng advice, shine-share namin yung alam namin. Nandyan pa rin naman si papa na matagal na sa sport na ito at best coach para sa akin, so ako ipapakita ko lang yung kung ano ang kaya ko sa Circle."