Tatampukan nina Eric ‘The Natural’ Kelly at Honorio ‘The Rock’ Banario ang kampanya ng Pinoy sa pagbabalik ng ONE Championship sa Manila sa gaganaping ONE: Global Rivals sa Abril 15, sa MOA Arena sa Pasay City.
Kapwa nagsasanay sa pangangasiwa ng Team Lakay sa Baguio City, target nina Kelly (12-2) at Banario (8-6) na makabawi sa kahihiyan na natamo sa harap ng mga kababayan sa huling fight card ng pamosong mixed martial arts promotion sa Asya noong Disyembre.
Makakaharap ni Kelly ang mapanganib na si Timofey Nastyukhin (9-2) ng Russia, target ang panalo na magpapabalik sa kanyang katayuan sa MMA community. Ipinapalagay na pinakamatikas na fighter sa featherweight si Kelly bago ang hindi inaasahang kabiguan laban kina Hiroshige Tanaka at Ting.
“The goal of every fighter is to become champion, but for now my focus is on [Timofey] Nastyukhin,” pahayag ni Kelly.
“For me, I don’t have a stable gym where I train at full-time. I train more naturally,” aniya.
“Whichever gym I find myself in, that’s where I train. Mostly, I just watch Youtube videos and apply it to my training and then I go to some gyms to test it out. I am in the constant search for more knowledge for my career.”
Handa naman si Banario na magsakripisyo pa ng todo para makabawi sa limang kabiguang natamo sa ONE FC promotion.
Hindi naging madali kay Banario ang mga nakalipas na laban kontra sa matitinik at batikang sina Koji Oishi, dating kampeon na si Narantungalag Jadambaa, Herbert Burns at Ting.
Masusubok ang kanyang kahandaan kontra sa kababayan at dating URCC standout Vaughn “The Spawn” Donayre (8-4). Target ni Donayre, Pinoy mixed martial artist na nakabase sa Dubai, ang unang panalo sa ONE FC.
“Vaughn Donayre is a complete fighter also. I prepared for this fight. This will be my comeback fight because in the past few years I’ve been losing to the biggest fighters in my division. But now this is a new challenge for me if I can come back,” sambit ni Banario.
“My conditioning is good. I feel strong in this state. I’m very strong at my normal fighting weight. I changed the way I approach the fight. I pace myself more now whereas before it was all fast-paced, that’s why I make mistakes from the first round. Now, I will pace myself until I get my timing down, then I’ll strike,” aniya.
Ang ONE: Global Rivals ang unang fight card ng promotion sa Manila ngayong taon.
Tatampukan ang torneo nang sagupaan sa pagitan nina ONE Welterweight World Champion Ben Askren kontra kay dating Combat Sambo world champion Nikolay Aleksakhin ng Russia.