ONE Championship: Rene Catalan admits he almost tapped
Credit to Author: Tempo Online| Date: Mon, 11 Mar 2019 05:58:06 +0000
It was certainly an impressive night for Rene “The Challenger” Catalan as he stopped former ONE Strawweight World Champion Yoshitaka “Nobita” Naito, but it certainly did not come without a hefty price.
Catalan revealed that he nearly tapped out in pain early in the first round, but he endured it to end up victorious at ONE: REIGN OF VALOR last Friday, 8 March at the Thuwunna Indoor Stadium in Yangon, Myanmar.
A huge takedown attempt early on from Naito stretched the 40-year-old Ilonggo’s back in a bad way, to the point that Catalan was almost forced to throw in the towel.
But Catalan held on just long enough to get his second wind and eventually secure a devastating finish.
“In his first takedown attempt, I nearly tapped because I felt my back cramp up. I was 99 percent sure that I was going to tap. The pain was so intense and I can’t breathe properly,” he said.
“But then he tried to adjust and he rolled. That’s where I got my wind. I really maintained my position so I can recover, and I never let up.”
The classic striker-versus-grappler battle nearly ended up to Naito’s favor as he pursued a takedown from the onset.
Surprisingly, Catalan did not bulge as he defended the takedown flawlessly before mounting enough offense of his own.
“I know that his grappling is on a high level, but with my wrestling training with coach Roque [Verangel Mana-ay Jr.], I was able to pin him down,” said Catalan
“Actually the gamelan was to try and strike with him and knock him out with a straight punch in the first round, maybe in the second if I can’t get it in the first.”
He got that sensational technical knockout win when he found an opening for a knee which marked the start of the end for Naito.
“There was an opening for a knee that’s why I went for it, then I never stopped because I didn’t want to go to a second round.”