ADONIS Sevilleno is the winner of ONE Warrior Series Philippines, outlasting 15 other warriors in the largest martial arts reality TV show to ever hit the Philippines.
He's earned a $100,000 contract (around P5.7 million) to compete in ONE Championship.
By winning the show, Sevilleno will also be competing under the Team Lakay banner from now on, and fans will see him in action in his main-stage debut against Drex “T-Rex” Zamboanga at ONE 164: Pacio vs. Brooks on Saturday, 3 December, at the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila.
Adonis Sevilleno reflects on ONE Warrior Series win
“There wasn’t any day that I gave to myself to rest,” Sevilleno said. “That’s because I really wanted to win this. I wanted to be a champion and take home the ONE Championship contract.”
The Cebuano was actually close to dropping out of the show in the finale, as he worried that his ribs may have been broken during filming. But as soon as he got cleared by medical staff following an x-ray, Sevilleno was unstoppable.
With Sheraz Qureshi dropping out of the competition early, Sevilleno had to overcome the two early favorites in Jun Montilla and Ariel Lampacan.
The finale started out with the three remaining warriors being tested and then narrowed down to two. The warriors wrestled, grappled, and then did a combination of both against ONE mainstays Stephen Loman, Jeremy Pacatiw, and Geje Eustaquio.
After that tiring gauntlet, it was Sevilleno and Lampacan who ended up being the final two, and they duked it out in the final Circle Elimination sparring showdown.
The duel didn’t disappoint.
Lampacan started out well, connecting with kicks and combinations, using his Muay Thai skills to punish Sevilleno from the onset.
But Sevilleno found his second wind as the Cebuano went to his wrestling and top control, where he smothered Lampacan for the duration of the sparring showdown.
After two grueling rounds, Sevilleno stood the tallest.
“I’m so happy. I’m thinking, I was only dreaming of this before,” Sevilleno said. “I really wanted to be a member of Team Lakay and join a team of legendary fighters. And through this journey, I did it.”