Team Lakay coach's son Jhanlo joins ONE Championship
MANILA, Philippines — Team Lakay coach Mark Sangiao will be seeing his son follow in his footsteps in Singapore-based promotion ONE Championship.
Jhanlo, the 18-year-old rising star, became the latest ward from the famed Baguio stable to sign with ONE just months after former Brave CF champ Stephen Loman.
ONE announced the teen's signing late Tuesday.
The young MMA fighter shared that he was surprised at the offer from the global company that features a long list of his "kuyas" in Team Lakay.
"I wasn't expecting it. I was shocked when my father gave me the contract," Jhanlo shared.
"I can't really explain what I was feeling... Since I was a kid, I had wanted to be here for so long. It has been my dream. I wanted to compete like all my kuyas in the gym," he added.
Being the son of a MMA coach, Jhanlo has been surrounded by the sport since he was at the young age of six.
The second-generation mixed martial artist started showing potential at the age of 14 when he started bringing home gold medals from a local Muay Thai competition.
Now, with his time for the big leagues imminent, the 18-year-old is ready to take his skills to the next level by taking the pressure of being a Sangiao, and a Team Lakay ward, in stride.
"The moment I signed that contract, my father told me, 'This is it. This isn't the amateurs anymore. You have to be ready. You have to be better. You're on the big stage so don't act like an amateur anymore,'" Jhanlo said.
"There are a lot of expectations on my end, given that it's the big stage. There's a lot of pressure, but I'm willing to put in the hard work to grab every opportunity." he added.
Jhanlo thus joins a handful of young Team Lakay stars like Danny Kingad, Stephen Loman and Lito Adiwang.
The storied stable has produced multiple world champions in the Singapore promotion like reigning ONE strawweight champion Joshua Pacio, and former world titlists Eduard Folayang, Geje Eustaquio, Kevin Belingon and Honorio Banario.
The 18-year-old's debut with the promotion has yet to be set with the COVID-19 situation in Singapore bringing ONE's live events to a halt.
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