MMA News: Team Lakay Coach Aiming For Clean Sweep At ONE: Winter Warriors II

Team Lakay lynchpin Mark Sangiao stressed the need for his fighters to end the year on a high note heading into ONE: Winter Warriors II.

In a virtual press conference, Sangiao was asked about how confident he is that his four-fighter contingent can pull off four victories.

“Same confidence as in previous fights. But since 2021 is ending, we hope that our four fighters can pull off victories. There is a need to win, but of course, it’s MMA so anything can happen. But that’s what we want to happen: to win,” said the 42-year-old head coach in Filipino.

It was announced earlier in the week that Team Lakay would play a major role in the shaping of the December card for ONE Championship as they make up the bulk of the event.

No. 2-ranked bantamweight Kevin Belingon will finally be making his return to the ring after a long layoff against South Korea’s Kwon Won Il.

Danny Kingad is slated to face No. 4-ranked Kairat Akhmetov of Kazakhstan in what Sangiao believes to be a title eliminator bout as Kingad has no one left to fight within the division.

ONE: Winter Warriors II will also have the promotional debuts of Stephen Loman and Jhanlo Sangiao, the son of the head coach.

Loman, the former BRAVE CF bantamweight champion, will try to snap the three-fight win streak of No. 3-ranked bantamweight Yusup Saadulaev, while Sangiao’s progeny gets his first taste of ONE Championship action against MMA veteran Paul Lumihi.

Hailed as one of Asia’s best MMA coaches, Sangiao is looking to have a successful outing at ONE: Winter Warriors II after some failed bids at victory this year, most recently with Jenelyn Olsim’s defeat at the hands of Ritu Phogat in the ONE Women's Atomweight World Grand Prix semifinals.

Sangiao was also asked about who he thinks has the toughest matchup and replied with a chuckle that he thinks everyone will have a tough time since MMA is such an unpredictable sport.

“To the fans who have been supporting us, thank you very much. I hope that the fans will watch all of their fights because they’ll get to see a new side to Team Lakay and some new faces on our team. We guarantee that they will enjoy watching the fights. I hope everyone stays safe.” Sangiao cheerfully said at the end of his interview.

ONE: Winter Warriors II will be happening on December 17 with more fights to be added in the coming days.