MANILA – Robin “The Ilonggo” Catalan of the Philippines beat Indonesian foe Adrian Mattheis via submission in the second round of ONE: Battle for the Heavens at the Guangzhou Tianhe Gymnasium in Guangzhou, China.
It was the second consecutive win of the Iloilo City native after scoring a disqualification victory against Thailand fighter Kritsada Kongsrichai earlier this year in Bangkok, Thailand.
Catalan has been in control right from the get go on Saturday as he immediately hoisted his opponent up and slammed him to the mat before using the rest of the round to dominate.
In the second round, Catalan did not waste time in taking the match to the ground after unloading consecutive kicks on Mattheis. The Ilonggo caught a kick by his Indonesian foe and used it to take him down.
Mattheis tried his best to get back up but Catalan tightened his grip on his opponent before he jumped backwards for a heel hook and torqued the knee of Mattheis to force him to tap out at the 2:10 mark.
“This is my second consecutive win here in ONE [Championship] and I just want to keep that momentum going to move up the ranks in the strawweight division,” Catalan said after the bout.
The victory allowed the 27-year-old Catalan to improve his record to eight wins and three losses while Mattheis’ slate slid to six wins and five losses as his three-bout streak got snapped./PN
