Rene Catalan is Proving All the Doubters Wrong at 40

March 10, 2019MMA Phil Contributor

Rene Catalan records sixth straight win in ONE Championship over former champ Yoshitaka Naito

Editor’s Note: I wanted to do justice in covering this milestone for Rene Catalan, so I asked Catalan Fighting System long-time student and fellow MMA writer Dreau Lanot to share Catalan’s journey from his perspective.

By the age of 40, most combat sport athletes have already slid past their prime and are considered done. In MMA, where the demands to the body and psyche are far more steep, the peak performance window of a fighter often closes earlier. However, for Rene Catalan, he has fought against and triumphed over too many odds to simply yield to Father Time.

Catalan was already 34 and has been a few years removed from his last combat exposure when he signed with ONE in 2013. His MMA career started in the shadows: a submission loss on his debut, followed by a no-contest from absorbing illegal blows, and then a knockout.

It took over three years and a couple of camp relocations before he could find his winning formula; the Filipino Wushu-Sanda record holder only earned his first MMA win in September 2016 against Chinese opponent Zhang You Liang.
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Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone Fighter Tour Highlights: Cowboy is Ready to Give an “Ass-Whooping” at #UFCSingapore

May 4, 2018May 4, 2018MMA Phil Contributor

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Cowboy’s Visit is One of MMA Philippines’ Favorite Fighter Tours Thus Far!

It’s been almost a week since Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone visited the Philippines for UFC and Cignal’s fighter tour. We took our sweet time post-processing the event photos, and finally here is MMA Philippines’ breakdown of the nation’s experience with the busiest, winningest fighter in the UFC!

Cerrone didn’t have time to put up his legs after arriving on Friday as he went straight to the press conference held at Marco Polo Ortigas in the evening. Members of the press had first dibs in asking Cowboy questions, which the WEC and UFC veteran was more than game to answer. Here are some of the topics touched during the press scrum:

1) Cerrone views his UFC career as a means to finance his vicious appetite for extreme sports, so don’t expect him to give up skydiving during training camp!
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Kevin Belingon: No Title Shot, No Problem

November 8, 2017MMA Phil Contributor

“The Silencer” Seeks to Cement Claim to Title Opportunity

ONE Championship was six months old when Kevin Belingon first stepped inside its cage in 2012. That makes him one of the OG’s of Asia’s largest MMA promotion.

His journey is a series of ups and downs, facing a who’s who of ONE’s bantamweight division. To date, the highest point he’s reached was a championship bout against Bibiano Fernandes in January 2016, which unfortunately ended with a first round submission loss.

While “The Silencer” may have faltered against the champ, Belingon bounced back with three straight victories, including two KO wins over former title challengers in Toni Tauru and Reece McLaren.
The Lakay KO artist has long established that he belongs to the upper tier of ONE’s 135-lbs division, and when he finished McLaren in last August’s ONE: Quest for Greatness, a rematch with Fernandes seemed to be the next logical scenario.
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