Despite age, Catalan remains motivated to compete in ONE
AT THE age of 39, some athletes in the constantly-evolving sport of mixed martial arts are already heading to the tail-end of their professional careers, but for Filipino martial arts veteran Rene “The Catalan, the party has just started.
Taking good care of himself has become a habit for the hot-streaking Filipino strawweight, given that physical prime does not last that long and fades away as time passes by.
But for the favorite son of Iloilo City, his motivation to excel against the young and hungry athletes in ONE Championship’s 56.7kilogram weight class has been the main reason why he continues to strap on four-ounce gloves.
“Many believe that the younger generation of athletes have the advantage in terms of learning and adopting things quickly. But for me, it’s all about your passion and your personal belief that you are better than anyone else,” Catalan expressed.
If anyone thinks that his best days are in the rearview mirror due to his age, the four-time Wushu Sanda world champion begs to disagree as he is still aiming to reach his peak form.
Despite being one of the oldest competitors in his division, Catalan has turned his doubters into believers as he is now riding high on an impressive five-match winning streak in the world’s largest martial arts organization.
Starting his ONE Championship run on the wrong foot by suffering two-straight losses at the hands of former strawweight kingpins Dejdamrong Sor Amnuaysirichoke and Alex Silva, Catalan rededicated himself to the sport a few years ago, turning his weakness into strength.
Since making a triumphant return from a two-year sabbatical in September 2016, Catalan has never looked back, racking up five consecutive victories against some of the biggest names of the ONE Championship strawweight bracket.
In his most recent outing, Catalan remarkably routed Stefer Rahardian of Indonesia over the course of three rounds to walk away with an unquestionable decision win.
Rahardian was touted to be next line to vie for the coveted ONE strawweight world championship, steamrolling every opposition that came his way, but all of that took a drastic turn when he faced Catalan, who handed the Indonesian standout his first career defeat in dominating fashion last July.
Now that the ONE strawweight world title is currently in the possession of compatriot Joshua Pacio, Catalan feels that he deserves to be given an opportunity to vie for the goldplated strap.
Catalan is fully aware of what the 22year-old Team Lakay representative has to offer on the ONE Championship stage, but he is confident that he could pose serious problems in their potential title tiff.