Team Lakay's Jeremy Pacatiw is set to unleash a "different breed" of himself when he steps into the Circle for the first time at ONE: Battleground on July 30 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.
Pacatiw will be facing Chinese foe Chen Rui in a bantamweight bout for his promotional debut since transferring from BRAVE Combat Federation of Bahrain.
"I'll say now that they will see a different breed of Jeremy Pacatiw, a much better version of me," said Pacatiw, who holds a 10-4 mixed martial arts record.
"I am very, very much excited for my debut. I won't go into details about our preparation but I believe we have everything set for this fight."
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What drives him the most nowadays are the mentoring he had received from his Team Lakay seniors and the guidance of coach Mark Sangiao.
For now, the 25-year-old Igorot warrior only wanted one thing for his debut and that is to claim the huge victory.
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"They only gave me positive reminders ahead of my debut. They also told me that I should keep in mind that this being my debut, this is the moment for me to shine and get my name remembered," added Pacatiw.
"I just stay focused. I don't really feel pressured because that's what they reminded me of. The most important thing in my mind right now is to win, and that's it."
Pacatiw has not fought since knocking out Felipe Efrain of Brazil last December 2019 while Rui last saw action in January this year and lost to South Korean fighter Kwon Won Il via third-round technical knockout, falling to a 9-2 record.
"This match is so huge for me that it's a must that I win this. Everything else will follow. Every fight that I win will lead me closer to the top and eventually, becoming a champion at ONE. But my focus is here, and we've prepared well for this fight," said Pacatiw, who will join the stacked bantamweight division with huge names such as Brazilian champion Bibiano Fernandes, John Lineker (No. 2), Team Lakay veteran Kevin Belingon (No. 2), Yusup Saadulaev (No. 3), Fabricio Andrade (No. 4), and Shoko Sato (No. 5).
Also set to debut in the bantamweight division are former BRAVE champion Stephen Loman and Jhanlo Sangiao, the son of coach Mark.
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