Team Lakay coach bares fight wish list
MANILA, Philippines – Famed martial arts stable Team Lakay has been on hiatus amid the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
But with Singapore-based promotion ONE Championship already back on its feet, the Baguio-based fighters may just be back in action sooner rather than later.
Head coach Mark Sangiao recently named his dream matchups for his wards after the health crisis blows over.
For Joshua Pacio, the only remaining ONE title holder in Team Lakay, Sangiao wants a rematch with former titleholders Yosuke Saruta and Yoshitaka Naito.
Sangiao thinks a victory over either opponent would legitimize Pacio's dominance as a strawweight.
"A lot of people weren’t convinced with his victories over either, which is why I think rematches would work well in favor of Joshua closing the book on these adversaries," Sangiao said.
Saruta and Naito are scheduled to face each other later this month in Tokyo. Saruta has already expressed his intention of clashing with Pacio again should he win against Naito.
Meanwhile, for young gun Danny Kingad, Sangiao believes a title shot is within reach for the ONE Flyweight belt.
Sangiao is confident he could pit Kingad against Flyweight defending champ Adriano Moraes.
Kingad had already faced Moraes in the past, where he suffered his first-ever professional defeat.
But Sangiao believes a different Kingad will emerge should he get a shot at Moraes again.
The Brazilian fighter is set to defend his Flyweight belt against 12-time former UFC champ Demetrious Johnson, whom Kingad also faced.
“Whether Adriano Moraes will remain champion after his fight with Demetrious Johnson, that remains to be seen. But whether or not Moraes is champion, Danny is ready to fight him,” Sangiao said.
For his older wards Eduard Folayang and Kevin Belingon, Sangiao still has big plans.
Sangiao believes that Folayang, who struggled in his fights last year, may still have a shot at the top spot of the division.
“There are a lot of great matchups to be made at lightweight for Eduard, but the one man he wants most is Christian Lee. Eduard is out for redemption, and he’s training very hard to achieve his goals," said Sangiao.
Lee is the titlist for the Lightweight division, and while Folayang is a former title holder, "The Landslide" would have to claw his way back up if he wants a chance at redemption.
For Belingon, Sangiao sees a familiar foe in his future — Bibiano Fernandes.
Though Belingon and the reigning Bantamweight World Champion have already fought a total of four times, Sangiao says there are still matters left unresolved.
“Kevin and Bibiano have unfinished business. I just wasn’t convinced the last they fought. Knowing Kevin, he isn’t easy to submit. There were just some mistakes that we made that cost us the fight. But I know we can correct those mistakes,” said Sangiao.
While all of these bouts aren't far-fetched, Sangiao and his wards can do nothing more than wait for call ups from their promotion.
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