Ilonggo mixed martial arts fighter Rene Catalan is not yet thinking about retirement after he suffered a first round knockout defeat to South African Bokang Masunyane in the ONE: BIG BANG a week ago at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.
The Santa Barbara, Iloilo-native offered no excuses after being on the wrong end of a highlight-reel knockout win by Masunyane, but has vowed that he will bounce back.
“Actually, I was really prepared for this. I was confident about my cardio. I prepared better than I did against Pacio. Even though we were in lockdown, I was still able to prepare well,” Catalan said.
“If you look at all my previous preparations, this is probably the best I’ve had in years. I just didn’t expect that knockout to happen,” he added.
After Masunyane dominated Ryuto Sawada with his takedowns, Catalan expected his foe to focus on wrestling, but the South African surprised him with his moves during their match.
“I know he’s a high-level wrestler. I wasn’t really expecting him to kick,” Catalan said. “I was just trying to move out and escape. I was expecting him to shoot after that, but I didn’t expect him to throw a head kick.”
Catalan, who will turn 42, believes he still has a long way to go when it comes to his mixed martial arts career. For as long as he remains disciplined and hungry, he thinks he’ll get back to title contention soon enough.
“It’s not really about the age but about the discipline. When you age, things get a bit harder when it comes to recovery and stamina, but those effects are mitigated with good discipline,” Catalan said.
“Being the founder of this gym, I remain motivated. Helping my athletes each day motivates me to keep on training. I just have to remain focused so I can elevate my team to new heights, like Team Lakay did,” he added./PN
