Torres in no rush for ONE Championship title shot

MANILA — Eclipsed in Friday night’s Filipinos’ string of victories in ONE Championship was Jomary Torres’ impressive win over compatriot April Osenio.

Torres’ conquest of the Team Lakay ward Osenio was nothing short of impressive. It was Torres’ latest addition to the streak of wins the MMA fighter had since joining the promotion as a relative unknown.

Torres took care of an older and much more experienced Osenio in just under 40 seconds, scripting the fastest win in the distaff side.

After making mincemeat of crowd darling Rika Ishige last year, she weathered a tough Nita Dea for a unanimous decision win. 

The latest win — one that came at home — has placed Torres among the ranks of contenders. She, however, noted that she’d rather rack up the victories first and refine her craft.

Her very pro first win came in a local showpiece via a gritty stand against Krisna Lindaga, which also lasted three rounds.

“I’ll enjoy the 4-0 in first,” the soft-spoken Zamboanga native said in Filipino. “I feel like going for the title this early is a bit of a stretch.”

“I’m just so elated that I got to test my mettle against Team Lakay. It makes me really happy,” said Torres, who represents the Catalan Fighting Systems of the southern regions.

Team Lakay is arguably the top fight stable in the country, producing former champions like Honorio Banario, Eduard Folayang and now the recent interim flyweight kingpin Geje Eustaquio.

Asked what else she seeks to improve, the atomweight fighter, who once told Philstar.com she’d rather have her craft do the talking, lit up and went on to share more.

“I feel like my wrestling and my striking needs more work. My ground game, too,” she shared. “Although I wasn’t able to test my ground since I leaned on almost just boxing against April."