Ilonggo Rene Catalan seeks strawweight stardom once again in ONE

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

After clinching the third-best strawweight spot in ONE Championship, the pride of Sta. Barbara, Iloilo is looking to conquer the division once more.

Ranked below Yosuke “The Ninja” Saruta, Yoshitaka “Nobita” Naito, and the current ONE strawweight champion, Joshua “The Passion” Pacio, Catalan is eager that he can once again take over the division with renewed motivation.

“I am motivated to see my name ranked as number three. I am thankful to be a part of it. Now I’m even more fired up to catch up with the rest of them,” Catalan said.

Considered to be one of the most veteran MMA practitioners in the league, Catalan was once a beast in the ring, taking down every opponent in front of him that helped him rack up to six consecutive wins, one of the longest in ONE history.

“I was previously the number one contender. After my loss I dropped to number three. On my part, I just have to prepare,” Catalan thoroughly explained.

Added motivation for Catalan is Naito – whom he previously beat in convincing fashion, notching a higher rank than him.

The Ilonggo slugger is currently conditioning himself and is preparing for a ONE comeback after his last title bout against Pacio.