THE latest Team Lakay member in ONE Championship Jeremy “Juggernaut” Pacatiw is set to make his promotion’s debut at ONE: Battleground on Friday.
Got his professional start in another mixed martial arts company, 25-year-old Mr. Pacatiw (7-4) now looks to take his career to another plane and leave his mark in the sport through ONE.
First up for Mr. Pacatiw is a bantamweight clash with Chen Rui (9-2) of China.
“I’ll say now that they will see a different breed of Jeremy Pacatiw, a much better version of me,” said the fighter of his push heading into his ONE debut.
“I am very, very much excited for my debut and I believe we have everything set for this fight,” he added.
Mr. Pacatiw was officially announced as being part of ONE in June, joining Team Lakay teammates, who include Joshua Pacio (the reigning ONE strawweight champion), and former champs Eduard Folayang (lightweight), Honorio Banario (featherweight), Kevin Belingon (bantamweight) and Geje Eustaquio (flyweight).
He shared that his teammates have been rallying behind and helping him in his preparation.
“They gave me positive reminders ahead of my debut. They also told me that I should keep in mind that this being my debut, this is the moment for me to shine and get my name remembered,” he said.
Mr. Pacatiw went on to say that he recognizes that he has a lot to live up to being part of a renowned group like Team Lakay and expressed readiness for the challenge.
“I just stay focused. I don’t really feel pressured because that’s what they reminded me of. The most important thing in my mind right now is to win, and that’s it,” he said.
As for his opponent Chen, he is coming off a loss (technical knockout) in his previous fight against South Korean Kwon Won II and is out to rebound.
It is something not lost to Mr. Pacatiw and is not letting his guard down.
ONE: Battleground is headlined by the strawweight muay thai world championship clash between Thais Sam-A Gaiyanghadao (champion) and Prajanchai PK.Saenchai Muaythaigym. It will also feature the middleweight collision between former champion Aung La N Sang of Myanmar and Leandro Ataides of Brazil.
The event can be seen on July 30 over One Sports+ after the Premier Volleyball League and on Cignal TV channels 261 for HD and 91 for SD as well as on Cignal Play. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo
