3 Team Lakay Fighters Score Impressive Wins In One Championship: Masters Of Fate

All three of the Team Lakay fighters who saw action in last night's One Championship: Masters of Fate event at the Mall of Asia Arena emerged with their hands raised. In the main event, Joshua Pacio defended his strawweight belt by submitting fellow Filipino Rene Catalan in the second round of a scheduled five-rounder. It's his first defense of the belt after regaining it from Yosuke Saruta last April.

Pacio first won the title last year when he decisioned Yoshitaka Naito of Japan. Catalan earned the shot at the belt after notching six straight wins. He cemented his number 1 contender spot when he dropped Yoshitaka Naita, the former champion, in the very first round.

In the co-main event, Eduard Folayang placed himself back in the winning column with a technical decision victory over Tsogookhuu Amarsanaa of Mongolia. Folayang was in control most of the fight. An accidental headbutt occurred midway in the second round which caused a huge gash in Folayang's cheek. The bout was stopped and Folayang was awarded the technical decision victory.

Prior to his win over Amarsanaa, Folayang lost two straight bouts to Eddie Alvarez and Shinya Aoki, two of the most decorated fighters in the promotion. With the victory, Folayang starts his journey back to the lightweight belt which is currently held by Singapore's Christian Lee.

Joshua Pacio celebrates after submitting Rene Catalan to retain his strawweight belt. Photo credit: One Championship

Geje Eustaquio, the former bantamweight champion, also rebounded with a knockout victory over Toni Tauru of Finland. Eustaquio ended the fight with a spinning back kick in the third and final round. This was the second time that Eustaquio and Tauru fought. They first met inside the cage in 2016 which the Finn won via submission.