JEAN Claude Saclag wasted no time in strutting his wares in ONE Championship after finishing “The Bad Guy” Lee Jun Young in the first round of their flyweight MMA bout at ONE Friday Fights 78 inside Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
A booming overhand right set-up the frantic finish for the three-time SEA Games gold medallist, as he rocked the highly-touted South Korean before finishing him with a barrage of punches to get the TKO finish in the 1:34 mark of the first round.
The victory meant that Team Lakay has another promising bet in the ONE Friday Fights circuit, the ultimate proving ground for ONE Championship rising stars as he looks to follow in the footsteps of teammate Carlo Bumina-ang who earned a 100,000 USD contract to the main roster following a stellar showing in the weekly spectacle.
It also signalled the start of Saclag’s rise in the world of mixed martial arts after a colorful career with the Philippine Kickboxing and Wushu national teams where he’s delivered plenty of medals in regional and world tournaments, as he also boasts of a gold in the Wushu World Championships, and a silver in Asian Games for the same sport.
From the onset, the 29-year-old displayed his striking prowess as he connected on a beautiful side kick to the face which had “The Bad Guy” rethinking his approach in the match.
Confident with his striking as well, Lee continued to exchange with Saclag on the feet but that confidence turned out to be misplaced as it only set-up the grand finish for the Filipino who gladly took up the invitation by landing the killer punches to get his ONE career going with a bang.
Saclag set the tone for Team Philippines in an action packed weekend for ONE, with the promotion pivoting towards the United States for ONE 168: Denver on Saturday morning.
Fil-American striking star Sean Climaco targets his second straight win in the promotion against Johan Estupinan in a flyweight Muay Thai bout, opening the card that will be bannered by the superfight between two-sport world champion Jonathan Haggerty and flyweight Muay Thai king Superlek for the former’s bantamweight Muay Thai title.
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