MANILA, Philippines — ONE Championship’s newest strawweight contender Dave Bangguigui is still feeling the effects of his stellar debut in the Singapore-based promotion.
At ONE Friday Fights 14 last April, Bangguigui scored a convincing unanimous-decision win over Brazil’s Marcus Paulo Amaral as he overpowered his foe with his superior ground game.
The La Trinidad, Benguet native improved his overall MMA record to 9-1, and he couldn’t possibly have asked for a better performance as a member of ONE Championship’s main roster.
"I'm quite pleased with my performance since I was able to keep up with him despite the fact that he is way more experienced than me as a fighter and he’s a black belt in BJJ,” Bangguigui said.
Though taking the win on the ground, the 26-year-old admitted that he was caught off guard by Amaral’s wrestling prowess.
Luckily for him, he and Fight Corps MMA were able to foresee any challenge in his career-defining fight.
“We were surprised when we found out his credentials. But of course, I don’t fear any fighter because we prepared for it. Regardless of how the fight went, whether on the feet or on the ground, we were ready,” he stated.
“Even though my striking can really hold up, if I can finish the fight better on the ground, that’s where I’m taking the fight to.”
Now that he has introduced himself to a stacked strawweight division, the former ONE Warrior Series fighter eyes more fights in ONE Championship’s live events.
But the Filipino fighter isn’t sweating who he’ll be facing next. Right now, he’s just soaking in his debut victory.
“My dream is to compete in ONE Championship. Even though it took me quite a while to get here, what’s important is that I’m now part of the organization,” he mentioned.
Meanwhile, another Filipino strawweight fighter is set to see action as Jeremy “The Jaguar” Miado is slated to lock horns with Russian debutant Mansur Malachiev at ONE Fight Night 11 at Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok on June 10.