Team Lakay head coach Mark Sangiao has high expectations for Carlo Von “The Bull” Bumina-ang when the Filipino hard-hitter makes his ONE Championship debut this Friday.
Bumina-ang battles Reza Saedi in a three-round bantamweight MMA bout at ONE Friday Fights 27 on August 4 inside Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
Sangiao expects the man he fondly calls “The Bull” to make the most of his debut and impress the fans with his no-nonsense approach in the ONE ring.
“People should expect Carlo Von [to be] a true fighter every step of the way. I can’t speak much of his opponent, but I expect Carlo to come in and go for war,” he said.
“He’s a striker who likes to stand toe-to-toe. That’s why I called him “The Bull,” because it’s evident with his performances and how he trains. He truly wants to finish his opponents and get the knockout. Expect him to work to finish.”
That stamp of approval from Sangiao gives Bumina-ang the necessary confidence needed to transition to mixed martial arts after spending a considerable amount of time in kickboxing.
“I’m basing [my readiness] on the people who have experienced it already. I listen to my coach. He knows what my level is, he’s been monitoring my training. So, I believe that I have the skills and the strength to compete on the biggest stage,” he said.
For Bumina-ang, he’s done the necessary work in the gym and has had the right training partners surrounding him.
“I think it’s with the consistency in training. I just tried to keep building good habits in my everyday training,” Bumina-ang said.
“I feel like I’m ready because I’m already training with Jhanlo [Mark Sangiao] and Carlos [Alvarez]. Even before the SEA Games competitions, I was supposed to transition to MMA.”