Stefer Rahardian, 31, of Jakarta, Indonesia is one of the undefeated fighters on the “ONE: Reign of Kings” card. He is a tough fighter and his opponent Rene “The Challenger” Catalan, 39, of Iloilo, Philippines is aware of it.
“My opponent is no pushover,” Catalan said of Rahardian. “He wants to establish himself as the next strawweight contender for the title, but he needs to work hard for it because I also want that spot.”
Catalan and Rahardian will compete in the strawweight division at “ONE: Reign of Kings” at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City, Metro Manila, Philippines on July 27, 2018. It will be the second bout of the evening.
Rahardian holds a professional mixed martial arts record of 8 wins and 0 loss and 5 of his 9 victories came by way of submission. Following a white-hot run in the flyweight division, he made a successful debut as a strawweight on May 12, 2018 at “ONE: Grit and Glory” where he submitted Himanshu Kaushik of India.
Catalan is well aware of Rahardian’s grappling expertise. Now, the Filipino contender is diligently training to refute his bread-and-butter as well as his explosive skill set.
“I am preparing a solid defense against him,” Catalan said. “But of course, I am mixing in some offense as well. I am not sure if he will expect that I will add a twist to my game.”
With determination to gain and learn from experience, Catalan is certainly on the right track towards achieving his objective to be a potential title contender. He shared, “My latest win is a testament to how much I have learned from my past experiences.”
“The people can criticize me and my team,” Catalan noted. “But we won’t stop pushing forward. All we want is to succeed and give glory to our country.”
“My target is to compete for the ONE Strawweight World Championship,” the Filipino fighter added. “I know before I get to that stage, I still have a lot of work ahead of me. I am ready to get down and dirty to earn that opportunity.”
Here is an interview with Rahardian:
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CONAN Daily 