The Team Lakay prodigy actually started off well.
Team Lakay’s brightest hope is unbeaten no more.
Jhanlo Sangiao, who is being groomed to be the next face of the fabled Team Lakay, absorbed his first ever loss as a professional, tapping out to veteran Enkh-Orgil Baatarkhuu in the undercard of ONE Fight Night 13: Allazov vs. Grigorian on Satuday at the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
The Machine, though, showed flashes of brilliance, starting off like a house on fire and showing the makings of a world-class striker. The 21-year-old, in fact, imposed his will and his style early on, bloodying Baatarkhuu’s right eye early in round 1.
The tide turned in round 2, though, as Baatarkhuu tagged Sangiao with a brutal right elbow at the start. Seemingly smelling blood, the Mongolian veteran began stalking the 21-year-old Filipino relentlessly, scoring timely hits on the standup before getting Sangiao down on the ground, where he targeted the young man’s right arm and soon locked in a beautifully set up kimura. Baatarkhuu ultimately forced the Filipino to tap at the 2:53 mark of the second round to score the impressive victory.
Baatarkhuu, described by Team Lakay coach Mark Sangiao as his son’s toughest test to date, nonetheless gave credit to the younger Sangiao, who slipped to 6-1 after the loss.
“I wish him the best,” Baatarkhuu said postmatch. “He’s a promising young athlete.”
Sangiao, who was also unable to avenge stablemate Adonis Sevilleno’s defeat to the Mongolian at ONE Fight Night 13, will now have to go back to proverbial drawing board and look to restart his climb to the top of ONE’s stacked bantamweight division.
His stellar first round, though, shows he has the tools to excel. Now, he will need to figure out how to fulfill all that promise.