By:  | December 9, 2022 3:55 pm

A changing of the guard is underway at Team Lakay. Former ONE Championship title holders Eduard Folayang, Kevin Belingon and Geje Eustaquio all appear to be coming to the end but a new generation is ready to replace them.

Leading the way is Jhanlo Sangiao. The 20 year old already has a 5-0 record and has won two fights out of two for ONE Championship with both victories coming by way of first round submission.

At ONE 164 he finished Anacleto Lauron at the MOA Arena. It was his first time fighting for the promotion in Manila and it sounds like Sangiao enjoyed the experience,

“I’m very hyped up. The feeling is different, especially since I was competing in front of the Filipino crowd. I can’t find the right words, but I’m hyped.”

New generation

Joshua Pacio was beaten by Jarred Brooks in the main event. The defeat cost him his strawweight strap and means that Team Lakay can no longer boast a ONE Championship title holder among its ranks.

Afterwards Chatri Sityodtong hailed the new generation of talent that the camp is producing and name checked Sangiao who was delighted to hear just how highly he is rated by the ONE Championship head honcho,

“Of course, I’m very happy because it’s the boss himself who said that I’m the future. It truly is exciting.”

It was also a disappointing night for Eustaquio and Folayang who were both stopped with strikes. Jeremy Pacatiw, who at 26 has a long career ahead of him, was the only Team Lakay member apart from Sangiao to emerge victorious.

 

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Special weapon

Both men picked up $50,000 USD bonuses for their performances. But the success of the younger fighters contrasted sharply with the series of recent setbacks for the Team Lakay old guard.

So while it was a good night’s work for Sangiao it was a disappointing day for his team and he says they will learn from the experience,

“Unfortunately, only the two of us won, but we also learned from this. We don’t always win. We can’t always be victorious, but we’ll take that as a lesson, try to improve, improve, and improve until we get back to the top.”

At one point Teem Lakay fighters held four ONE Championship belts. Those glory days have gone but Sangiao hinted that the camp has something special in store that could lead to even greater success in the future,

“I know we don’t have the belts anymore, but it’s not the end. Team Lakay has a special weapon that can take not just four, but a lot of belts.”