Bumina-ang in fight of his life vs Mongolian under fresh ONE contract

MANILA, Philippines -- Ahead of perhaps the biggest fight of his life thus far, Carlo Bumina-ang aims to apply what he has absorbed in the past six years.

The Filipino mixed martial artist will be battling Mongolia’s Enkh-Orgil Baatarkhuu in ONE Fight Night 24: Brooks vs. Balart on Saturday, August 3.

“The Bull”, who focused on the sport six years ago as part of Team Lakay, will try to have an explosive debut in the main roster over the No. 5-ranked bantamweight contender this weekend.

In a statement, Bumina-ang said that he has been trying to absorb everything he can in his training with the team.

“I’m very observant. I watch my coach and my teammates, I listen and I learn from them. I make sure to make every training session count because they gave me a chance to be this team’s representative,” he said.

“In return I’m making sure to be at my best in every training session. That mindset got me here,” he added.

Back in 2018, he joined Team Lakay as a student especially after seeing its success.

“Around that time, Team Lakay was already booming. They had four world champions in that stable and it encouraged me to join,” he said.

“I enrolled only as a student, then I enjoyed it. After two months, I told them that I would like to join the Team Lakay [fight team]. Coach Mark [Sangiao] observed me during training and then allowed me to compete.”

Fast forward to 2024, the 30-year-old fighter bagged a $100,000 contract in the main roster of ONE.

“I’m grateful because right now I get to do what I love. There’s fulfillment now on my end. Looking back five years ago, if I didn’t take the risk and bet on myself, I would probably still be carrying bananas and selling them in the market,” he stressed.

“Compared to my situation back then, I’m in a place where I’m happy with what I’m doing, and my life is also improving at the same time. For that I’ll always be grateful.”