Almost one year ago, Rabin “The Rock” Catalan
thought he had finally gotten his big break. The Filipino national wushu
champion was about to make his debut for ONE Championship at ONE: GLOBAL RIVALS
in Manila, after watching three of his brothers already compete in the
promotion although he was the first to transition to MMA.
“I was so excited, but nervous at the
same time because it was a short notice fight,” says Catalan. “It is actually
quite overwhelming doing the shows in ONE Championship, because it is different
from the local fights. I was shocked when I first walked out, and I could not
believe myself when I was standing inside the ONE Championship cage at that
moment.”
However, things did not go as planned for
the 30-year-old Catalan. He suffered a second-round TKO loss to Joshua Pacio,
undoing the momentum he had built for himself in the local scene. The
30-year-old strawweight was dealt a huge blow, and had to take some time off to
recover.
“I had to really think whether I wanted
to compete in MMA or not,” ultimately putting the pain of his loss behind him.
“So, I trained hard because I wanted to get better before coming back to ONE
Championship.”
Catalan’s next challenge comes on 11
March, Saturday night, in the form of “The Smiling Assassin” Pongsiri Mitsatit,
which is a tall order in spite of his opponent’s small stature.
After all, Mitsatit is an undefeated 7-0
prospect with six finishes, a former Northern Thailand Muay Thai Champion, and the
fight takes place in Mitsatit’s home country of Thailand. It will be one of the
preliminary bouts for ONE: WARRIOR KINGDOM at the Impact Arena in Bangkok.
“He is quick, and he looks strong and
very fierce,” says Catalan of his opponent. “I will do my best and really show
what I have. I will put my best foot forward because I have trained very hard
for this fight.
To prepare for the bout, “The Rock” moved to
Cagayan De Oro City for his fight camp, and trained extensively at Mindanao
Ultimate Mixed Martial Arts to regain his focus. There, he slowly rebuilt his
confidence in his abilities, and is fully prepared to perform at his best.
“Coming into this fight, I have
confidence now and I am training hard. I came up to Cagayan De Oro City to
really train and show that I am worthy to fight in ONE Championship. I have
dreams of really becoming a World Champion someday.”
Given his combat sports pedigree, that
might not be just a pipe dream. Catalan has been training in martial arts for
the past 20 years, starting even before his opponent Mitsatit was born.
“I
will keep up with Pongsiri (Mitsatit), and I will try to top his toughness and
quickness to make this my moment.”
