When Rocky Batolbatol, 31, directed his career path to ONE Championship nearly three years ago, he was once touted as a promising Filipino talent from Bacolod, Philippines. However, the luster of his billing as a top-notch prospect slowly faded when a string of setbacks came his way.
In Batolbatol’s promotional debut in November 2014, he suffered a second-round submission loss at the hands of Aussie standout Martin Nguyen. The Bacolod City native encountered the same fate in his second ONE Championship outing as he tasted a first-round submission defeat to Dutch-Indonesian journeyman Anthony “Archangel” Engelen in February 2016.
Rocky Batolbatol
A victory under the ONE Championship umbrella remained elusive for Batolbatol as he yielded to up-and-coming Singaporean martial arts superstar Christian Lee via first-round technical knockout in May 2016.
Determined to break his three-match losing skid in the Singapore-based mixed martial arts organization, Batolbatol makes his return to action by squaring off with Indonesian combatant “The Terminator” Sunoto on ONE Championship’s inaugural card in Surabaya, Indonesia. The Filipino contender announced, “I am back!”
“I am so excited to be back in action for ONE Championship, the Asian leader of martial arts and the premier MMA promotion in the region,” Batolbatol continued. “Ever since my last fight, I did not stop training. It is truly an honor to showcase my talent and skills on a global stage like ONE Championship.”
“ONE: Conquest of Kings”
Sunoto and Batolbatol are set to collide on the undercard of “ONE: Conquest of Kings”, which takes place at the GOR Kertajaya Arena in the Indonesian capital of East Java on July 29, 2017. With the ambition to insert his name into the winner’s column and regain his reputation as one of the Philippines’ best bantamweight fighters, Batolbatol bared that he put more emphasis on the grappling department in training camp as his cage counterpart has a penchant for grappling.
“I wanted to be comfortable anywhere the fight would go,” Batolbatol said. “That is why I focused on my wrestling and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu for this fight but of course, I did not neglect my striking, which is my bread-and-butter for years.”
A former professional boxer, Batolbatol has transitioned smoothly into the sport of MMA, winning his initial five bouts in spectacular fashion. Constantly utilizing well-placed combinations in search of spectacular knockouts, he will be looking for a stoppage against a gritty opponent like Sunoto.
“I want a knockout,” the Bacolod City fighter said. “It has been a longtime since the last time that I won by way of knockout. I am going in that cage with a statement to make. I can truly say that I am in the best shape of my career.”
Batolbatol stressed that he finds himself in a must-win situation against Sunoto, who seeks to make it two in a row in 2017 following his first-round demolition of Cambodian stalwart Chan Heng this past January. The Filipino MMA fighter shared, “I need this win.”
“I can’t lose forever,” Batolbaol continued. “It feels like I’ve been losing forever already but this is my chance to prove that there is a light at the end of tunnel. No one stays on the losing side.”
As Batolbatol emphasized, losing is part of the sport. Even though winning has shied away from him in his last three fights in ONE Championship, he explained that his love for MMA keeps on luring him back.
“I am continuing my career as an MMA fighter because I love this sport”, Batolbatol shared. “It keeps me alive. Moreover, this is what I live for. Setbacks don’t matter because I love what I do. That’s why I do it.”
“I am motivated to win this fight,” the Filipino MMA fighter added. “I want to secure my first win in ONE Championship. That’s my goal. It keeps me focused and driven for this fight.”
CONAN Daily 