Hurricane eyes two titles next year

MANILA, Philippines - Ana (Hurricane) Julaton said yesterday her goal is to regain the world boxing title and annex the ONE FC mixed martial arts championship next year, becoming in the process the only fighter ever – male or female – to reign in the ring and cage simultaneously.

Julaton, 34, recently trounced Egypt’s Walaa Abbas in the ONE FC: WARRIOR’S WAY card at the Mall of Asia Arena to improve her MMA record to 2-1. Her only loss was a disputed decision to Malaysia’s Ana Osman in Dubai last August and she wants a rematch to settle unfinished business.

There’s a chance that Julaton may fight for the world boxing title in March in Macau and the ONE FC belt in December in Manila. The Hurricane said it would be historic if she captures both crowns. “It’s in the works right now,” she said. “So many factors happen behind the scenes and we are working diligently in making my boxing comeback happen. It would be unique for our global Filipino community. As the Filipina representative, I am the only active fighter pursuing both MMA and professional boxing. Imagine if I can win a world boxing title in Macau with Top Rank in March then concurrently, win the ONE FC MMA in Manila in December?”

As a pro boxer, Julaton has compiled a 13-4-1 record, with 2 KOs. She hasn’t fought since decisioning Mexico’s Perla Hernandez in the Yucatan peninsula in November last year, putting her boxing career on hold to focus on MMA. Julaton, a former WBO/IBA superbantamweight female titlist, said she’s ready to return to the ring to fight anyone whom Top Ranks puts in front of her. If she had a choice, Julaton would pick either WBA champion Yesica Marcos or WBC titleholder Jackie Nava as her next opponent.

Julaton said fighting for the ONE FC championship would be a dream come true. “I want to continue my growth in wrestling and grappling,” she said. “As a boxer in MMA, I need to be more technical and precise because of the nature of the sport. There are so many other styles of striking to worry about: muay, karate, kempo, taekwondo. I believe I would be more effective in MMA by sticking to and improving my boxing and the ground, grappling and wrestling arts. I’m looking forward to being back in the cage in the first half of 2015 to showcase more of this arsenal which I’m working on with coach Ricky Lundell at his MMA training center in Las Vegas. Then, I can go for the ONE FC title in December.”

So far, Julaton has won two MMA matches in Manila, the first over Egypt’s Saeid Saber by a third round stoppage last May. “I love fighting in Manila,” said Julaton. “It’s an amazing feeling when everyone in the arena is cheering for you. It brings excitement, a new sense of inspiration and pride. It was important for me to improve my ground and grappling game in MMA. I’m glad to showcase more wrestling in my arsenal and give the fight fans something new to look forward to. I’m excited to getting even better before I come back to the cage in the Philippines soon.”

Losing to Osman in Dubai prompted Julaton to take stock of her overall MMA approach. “I felt like I did enough to beat Osman and I know I’m the better fighter,” said Julaton. “My coaches Angelo (Reyes) and Ricky definitely want a rematch like me. This is a match-up that the Philippines will want and everyone in Asia would love to see. Let’s bring it on. I have unfinished business with her. Overall, my goal is to win the ONE FC belt next year and if Osman is in my way, then let’s do it.”

As for Abbas, Julaton admitted she got frustrated when the Egyptian refused to engage. “She was running around the cage,” said the Hurricane. “I like a toe-to-toe battle. When people like Marcos tried to do that, they got dropped. I like to give the audience a great fight and when Walaa wasn’t willing to engage, I knew she couldn’t handle my pace. In the first round, I took her to the ground, pressured her there and delivered blows to her head repeatedly in my ground and pound attack and with a few knees to the head as she was trying to escape. That sequence wore her down and made her pedal backwards, trying to steal shots as I walked her down as the aggressor. I remember ending the first round almost submitting her as I had a secured standing Guillotine choke but didn’t have enough time to finish as she was saved by the bell. Walaa clearly didn’t want to fight me in the middle of the cage.”

Lundell, who prepared Julaton for Abbas, wasn’t at the Mall of Asia Arena because he worked UFC No. 3 heavyweight Travis Browne’s corner in a fight against Brendan Schaub in UFC 181 in Las Vegas that weekend. Browne scored a win via a first round stoppage.

“The gameplan for Ana was to stick with her strengths,” said Lundell. “She is dominating on her feet so our goal was to keep her there. If she saw a takedown, she could go for it and control her with ground and pound once they were down. Due to Travis’ fight, I was unable to be in Ana’s corner. I watched her fight live and did not see any adjustments that needed to be made. The decision was unanimous. I wouldn’t call that close. She showed clear dominance throughout the fight and secured the takedown game. Although both fighters were aggressive, Ana showed control of the center and dictated where the fight took place. She also landed cleaner shots. I didn’t see this fight as a close one.”