Rene Catalan (1-2-1) needed four fights to finally get a victory in ONE Championship. Now that he has finally tasted one, the Wushu pratictioner vows to never look back and go all the way this time around.
Catalan is set to return to action on Saturday, January 14 as he takes on hometown favorite Adrian Matheis in ONE: Quest for Power at the Jakarta Convention Center in Indonesia.
The 38-year-old pride of Iloilo got a first taste of victory in the organization after dominating Zhang You Liang last September. Now that he finally has the elusive win under his belt, Catalan is now shooting for the stars.
“My win in September is the first step. There’s more to come. I will not stop winning until I get the ONE World Strawweight Championship belt,” said Catalan.
“I want that opportunity to fight for the title. If he wins, he might get the title shot that I seek. You will never know if your next fight will be a title fight. That’s why you have to give your best in every fight,” he added.
He’ll be having his hands full against the youthful Matheis who has run through competition ever since making his debut midway last year.
Matheis won both of his fights by first round knockout as he looks to add the feisty Filipino banger to his list of victims.
However, Catalan is working double-time to avoid that.
“For this fight, I added more emphasis to my ground game. Even though I am coming off a win, I shouldn’t be complacent. I trained with the best Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioners in the country to hone my grappling skills,” Catalan continued.
But Catalan really won’t have any problem banging with his foe, instead, he’s actually waiting for it.
“I still believe that my striking is better than his stand-up game. I am very comfortable in that aspect. If he wants to strike with me, it will be my pleasure.”
