Filipinos always used to be the quiet men of Asian MMA. In the early days of ONE Championship there was a stark contrast between the demeanor of fighters like Eduard Folayang and Phil Baroni who both featured on the inaugural card.
The days of fighters from the Philippines being too polite to ask for a fight appear to be over. Team Lakay head coach Mark Sangiao has taken to Facebook to call for a matchup which is sure to raise some eyebrows.
He wants his son, Jhanlo Sangiao, to take on Fritz Biagtan in an all Filipino bout on a ONE Championship card. It is a match that would have huge historical significance because the fathers of the two bantamweights fought back in the day:
Final victory
In 2009 Sangiao and Biagtan fought on a URCC card in Baguio. The former won with a first round armbar in what would prove to be the final victory of his MMA career.
While their sons have both been extremely successful there is a big contrast between the MMA careers of the two men. Sangiao retired with a very respectable 7-2 record while Biagtan went 0-4 after being stopped in the first round every time he fought.
That didn’t stop the 53 year old from calling for a rematch with Sangiao on Facebook yesterday:
Busy schedule
Training fighters full time must keep Sangiao in good shape but the 44 year old decided to call time on his competitive career in order to be a full time coach a long time ago. Team Lakay is going from strength to strength and he is currently in Pattaya preparing Carlo Bumina-ang for ONE Friday Fights 37.
So Sangiao appears to have politely declined Biagtan’s callout. However he has come up with a much more realistic suggestion which could capture the imagination of the ONE Championship matchmakers.
His son currently holds a record of 6-1 and is coming off the first loss of his career. Biagtan’s record stands at 5-1 and he is coming off an impressive win at ONE Friday Fights 5.
The days when Eric Kelly and Honorio Banario were highly reluctant to face off for the ONE Championship title are long gone. There is an all Filipino fight coming up next month with Team Lakay’s Lito Adwiang rematching Jeremy Miado.
A bantamweight fight between Sangiao and Biagtan would be an intriguing prospect. The fathers might be unlikely to ever share a ring again but they would surely be keen to corner their sons for this one.
