MMA News: Team Lakay Mentor Eager To Guide Son To Victory At ONE: Winter Warriors II

Mark Sangiao founded Team Lakay in 2003 and 18 years later, he will be coaching his son, Jhanlo, in the opening match of ONE: Winter Warriors II this Friday, December 17.

Being a father and a coach at the same time may have its drawbacks, but Mark is looking forward to being in his son’s corner for his first-ever professional fight.

“If it's just up to me, I will treat him the same as our other athletes. But we don't know what will happen and like I said, that will be the first time that I will experience that. So, I think we could only wait for fight night before we can see how different I could really be when I'm just barking orders for him as a coach on the side,” the elder Sangiao told the media in a virtual press conference.

The younger Sangiao’s first fight in the promotion will have him face Indonesian veteran Paul Lumihi, who is currently riding a four-fight losing streak.

Other than the 19-year-old Sangiao, ONE: Winter Warriors II will also spotlight three other Team Lakay members namely: ranked fighters Danny Kingad and Kevin Belingon in the main event and co-main event respectively, with former BRAVE CF bantamweight champion Stephen Loman rounding it out.

The mixed martial arts group based in La Trinidad, Philippines has produced world-class fighters that have won titles in both ONE Championship and BRAVE Combat Federation.

In 2018, Team Lakay held the distinction of having four titleholders in separate weight classes in ONE Championship, which has since been whittled down to one with strawweight king Joshua Pacio holding tightly to his belt.

Called “The Machine” during his fighting years, the 42-year-old revealed that he has passed on the nickname to Jhanlo.

“Now that he's old enough, he could already have the name of 'The Machine.’ That name was given to me when I was still an athlete because when I was starting, I didn't stop until there was a clear winner. So to me, the fans can only expect that the fruit is better than the tree,” the Team Lakay mentor proudly said.

ONE: Winter Warriors II will be streaming live on the ONE Super App and official ONE Championship YouTube channel for fans in Asia on Friday, December 17 at 8:30 PM.

Meanwhile, the North American audience can catch the entire card via B/R Live at 7:30 AM ET.