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Rodian Menchavez assesses future following second straight loss

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Rodian “The Redeemer” Menchavez needs to make some major adjustments after absorbing his second straight loss in ONE Championship.

The Masbate City native suffered a second-round submission defeat by the hands of “The Big Heart” Yoon Chang Min at ONE: MARK OF GREATNESS last Friday, 6 December at the Axiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 

This was Menchavez’s first appearance inside the Circle since his first-round knockout loss to Li Kai Wen in his promotional debut at ONE: PINNACLE OF POWER in China back in June 2018. 

Against Yoon, Menchavez looked good in round one. But it just was not meant to be as Yoon imposed his ground game in the second round.

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Nevertheless, the Brawler’s Lab stand-out does not have any excuses, knowing his South Korean opponent was simply the better man that night.

“I was aware of how big of a challenge Yoon was and to be honest it pushed me to work hard and shoot for that win,” Menchavez said. 

“Unfortunately, things did not go our way. I know I have the skills to pull off the victory, but my body gave up on me that night.”

He knew he was in for a tough night, and he was confident that he could hang toe to toe with Yoon. But his conditioning said otherwise – and that is something he vows to work on moving forward. 

“I’ll also be focusing on getting more wind because I also struggled with that. I think I can hang with him anywhere, but I lacked in conditioning. I was already fading out in the first round,” Menchavez said. 

“When the second round came, I couldn’t carry my weight anymore and I was running after my breath. Nothing surprised me with what he did, I was just struggling with my conditioning.”

Now back to the drawing board, Menchavez is reassessing his next steps, which include a possible drop to the bantamweight division where he feels more comfortable. 

“Of course, losing is never a good feeling but if you look at the bright side, this match taught me many things, particularly on my skillset as an athlete. It will be a huge help as I go on with my career,” Menchavez said. 

“I also hope to get another fight as soon as possible. I know that there will be no easy competition moving forward and I promise to double my effort so I can get great results next time.”

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