Mark Sangiao’s 43rd Birthday Wish: Team Lakay 3-0 Sweep At ONE X

On Saturday, March 26, Team Lakay head coach Mark Sangiao will have his hands full as three of his prized pupils are slated to compete on the supporting card of ONE Championship’s 10th-anniversary show.

Former lightweight champion Eduard Folayang is set to go head-to-head with kickboxing legend John Wayne Parr in a three-round Muay Thai bout on the “Grand Finale” portion of ONE X, which takes place at the 12,000-capacity Singapore Indoor Stadium.

Meanwhile, his teammate and No. 5-ranked strawweight Lito Adiwang is booked to battle knockout artist Jeremy Miado in a rare Filipino-versus-Filipino encounter.

Also joining Folayang and Adiwang on the same card is former BRAVE CF bantamweight titleholder Stephen Loman, who will go up against ex-Shooto champion Shoko Sato.

On the eve of the highly-anticipated ONE X, the beloved trainer from Baguio City, Philippines will be celebrating his 43rd birthday.

Speaking with International Business Times sports editor and combat sports analyst Nissi Icasiano, Sangiao stressed that there couldn’t be a more fitting gift as he becomes a year older than to see his wards win all their matches at the said event.

“Having three Team Lakay athletes at this unprecedented event of ONE is not enough but more than enough. I think we are the most represented team on the [three] fight cards, so a win or three wins will not just be a birthday gift nor a party but a festival in the mountain,” the Team Lakay lynchpin told Icasiano.

“Who knows? We might butcher a pig and have a celebratory Cañao,” he added in delight.

The last time that all members of the prominent Filipino mixed martial arts stable were able to win their fights on the same night was in September 2021 when they accomplished a 2-0 sweep at ONE: Revolution—a campaign led by Joshua Pacio successfully defending his strawweight title versus arch-nemesis Yosuke Saruta in a rubber match.

Team Lakay fell short in replicating the feat at ONE: Winter Warriors II in December 2021, splitting their four assignments with Loman and Jhanlo Sangiao prevailing over their respective opposition.

Sangiao has every right to be in a festive mood on his special day, but for the legendary trainer, the next 24 hours will simply be the calm before the storm.

“We highly hope for an all-win, [but] this sport is so variable. What we are sure about is we are going to a cutthroat war,” he stated. “The other party has fully prepared for it, and we’re also coming into the battle all geared up.”