After 'very good year', Loman eyes ONE world title in 2023
MANILA, Philippines — Stephen Loman hopes to be the next world titleholder in ONE Championship to hail from Baguio stable Team Lakay.
After a stellar 2022 campaign where he won both of his bouts to rise to a 3-0 card in the Singapore promotion, Loman is eyeing the bantamweight belt.
A former champion in his previous promotion, Loman said that there have been big lessons he picked up from last year that'll aid him in pushing for the title.
"I’d look at it as a very good year. [2022] brought me some of the biggest victories of my career, and I achieved my goals to take everything step by step, move my way up in the rankings, and beat some of the biggest names in the division. That year was a very good achievement for me," said Loman.
"I’ve learned a lot this year. Having fought both Shoko Sato and Bibiano Fernandes, I’ve seen that there will be no easy fights here. Both of them are veterans, and I’ve had to step up my game quickly." he added.
Having proved his wares in ONE Championship after jumping from Middle Eastern promotion Brave CF during the pandemic, Loman targets to dominate his division this 2023.
"My goal in 2023 is to stay active, stay in tip-top condition, and the most important of it all, capture the championship belt. [I want] a chance to compete for that belt and bring that belt home," he said.
Currently, the ONE bantamweight world championship is vacant and will be competed for by erstwhile titlist John Lineker and challenger Fabricio Andrade next month.
Whoever wins the belt will be Loman's ultimate target for the year.
The rising Team Lakay star should have a good shot at regaining a world title for the Philippines after Joshua Pacio relinquished his strawweight belt against Jarred Brooks last December. This left the country without a champion in the promotion after having held five titlists at the same time back in 2018.
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