Olsim's latest win shows Team Lakay's ground game improvement — coach
MANILA, Philippines — When Jenelyn Olsim made her atomweight debut against the veteran Bi Nguyen in ONE: Battleground III in Singapore, the Filipina showed a diverse set of skills en route to the unanimous decision win.
Training out of Team Lakay, Olsim made sure to brandish the elite form of striking the Baguio stable has been long known for, especially with its former world champions in ONE Championship like Eduard Folayang and Kevin Belingon.
But apart from striking, the Benguet native also showed a tremendous game on the ground, being able to grapple and wrestle with Nguyen in an action packed bout.
Aside from defending takedown attempts well, Olsim also managed to manuever her way on the ground effectively against Nguyen — even holding control most of the time and attempting submissions here and there.
The great showing from Olsim, according to Team Lakay mentor Mark Sangiao, is the product of the stable's improvement on their ground game; which critics have long been pointing to.
"Yun yung pinaghirapan natin nung pandemic especially last year... pinaghusayan pa nila yung training sa wrestling, grappling, para mawala na yung sinasabi nila na kulang tayo sa ganito, ganire, ganyan," said Sangiao.
Team Lakay fighters have been known more for their striking, and have been pegged as lacking in other assets of the game — especially when opponents take the fight to the ground.
But as Olsim had shown against Nguyen, the Baguio stable is turning over a new leaf.
And Sangiao says the atomweight newcomer isn't the only one who's diversified, telling the competition to stay on guard because there is more to come.
"Expect pa nila yung mga kasama rin ni Jenelyn... magpeperform pa sila ng mas maganda next time," said Sangiao.
"Kasi masisipag talaga sila eh," he added.
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