Olsim, Miado in ONE: NextGen action in Singapore

FILIPINO mixed martial arts (MMA) fighters Jenelyn Olsim and Jeremy Miado will take the ONE Championship Circle against separate opponents on Friday at the “NextGen” event in Singapore.

Ms. Olsim (5-2), out Team Lakay, will vie for a spot in the ONE atomweight grand prix final against India’s Ritu Phogat while strawweight bet Mr. Miado fights China’s Miao Li Tao in a rematch of their 2019 encounter.

A surprise replacement for Japanese semifinalist Itsuki Hirata, Ms. Olsim said she is looking to take advantage of the grand opportunity given her to advance her MMA career.

“I never expected to be in this position in such a short time. But all I know is that I trained as hard as I could, I grabbed every opportunity that ONE has given me, and now here I am,” Ms. Olsim, a strawweight when she first competed in ONE, was quoted as saying by the promotion’s official website.

Mr. Miado (9-4), for his part, is out to win his second straight fight in ONE, and against Mr. Miao, who he defeated in November 2019 by way of a first-round knockout (flying knee). The win was a bounce-back for him after losing in his previous fight.

While it took a while to finally fight again, Mr. Miado of Marrok Force is confident he has put in the work in training to come out on top in his return.

“I kept training during the (pandemic-forced) break with my new team at Marrok Force so that I’ll be ready anytime I’m called up for a fight. Now, I’m looking forward to getting back and getting those wins,” he said in an interview with BusinessWorld.

NextGen will be headlined by the women’s atomweight world grand prix semifinal match between Thailand’s Stamp and Brazil’s Julie Mezabarba.

The winners of the tournament semifinal bouts will meet in the world grand prix championship final, which is planned to take place before the year ends.

ONE: NextGen will be shown live in the country on One Sports and One Sports+ beginning at 8:30 p.m. as well as on the ONE mobile app. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo