MANILA – Ilonggo mixed martial arts fighter Robin Catalan hopes to start the year with a bang. He tangles with Indonesian Stefer Rahardian in ONE: Eternal Glory tonight at the Istora Senayan in Jakarta, Indonesia.
The Iloilo City native Catalan also hopes to bounce back from his submission loss to Japanese Hayato Suzuki on October, 2018 at the Impact Arena in Thailand.
Catalan said he is confident of beating Rahardian, who suffered a defeat in July last year in the hands of Robin’s brother Rene, even if he will be fighting at the Indonesian’s home turf.
“I think he has a good ground game,” Catalan said. “I have studied his match against my brother and I was able to see how Rene defeated him. From what he did, I have added some things which I have been working in training.”
“He’s not as good in striking as he is on the ground. There’s equal amount of pressure for the both of us. He’s fighting in front of his home crowd who expect a win, while I’m going to be against a hostile crowd,” he added.
Catalan also said he is serious in scoring a victory against Rahardian not only to get back on the winning track but also to move closer for a possible ONE title fight later this year.
“I’d like to have more wins. Of course, a world title shot would be great,” Catalan said. “But I still want to improve my grappling and wrestling. Those are areas that we, as a team, feel that we lack, so that would be our focus for the coming year.”
Save for his last defeat, Robin was on a roll last year with two wins, including a submission victory over Indonesian foe Adrian Mattheis. Rahardian, meanwhile, have dropped his last two bouts./PN
