Elipitua Siregar confident of better outing against Robin Catalan
Elipitua “The Magician” Sireger believes his priorities weren’t in order the last time he entered the ONE Championship Circle against Senzo Ikeda.
But he promises to change all that when he takes on Robin “The Ilonggo” Catalan at ONE 157: Petchmorakot vs. Vienot this Friday, May 20, at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.
“The Magician” admits that he got too caught up with impressing fans and getting a performance bonus. Not one to repeat the same mistakes, he vows to bring a different approach against the Filipino.
“The target is always to win by finish, whether it’s a spectacular one or not. That’s for when we’re in the ring. What’s important is the win,” Siregar said.
“When I went up against , my focus shifted because of the 50k bonus, so I was focusing on the wrong thing, and I didn’t manage to get a finish too.
“Looking back, there were a lot of opportunities for me to get a finish. Now, I’m going to focus on what’s important and get a win no matter what.”
The Indonesian has been using Catalan’s win over Gustavo “El Gladiador” Balart as his main study material, watching the Filipino’s tendencies and what went wrong with the Cuban wrestler in that clash.
While many expected Balart to run through the Catalan Fighting System representative with his wrestling, the Filipino actually held on and got the highlight-reel finish in the end, knocking out the Olympian with a head kick.
“When he fought Gustavo, Gustavo was mainly using his striking. It was hard for him to secure a takedown, and with his background in Greco-Roman wrestling, it was harder for him to shoot for a takedown,” Siregar said.
“With that style of wrestling, they usually grapple on their feet, which is different from freestyle, which always ends on the mat. That’s the main difference I think, and that’s why he couldn’t take Robin down.”
But while Balart struggled with Catalan’s defense and striking, Siregar is confident that he’s learned enough from watching that match to get a much more favorable outcome.
“I believe Robin Catalan has a solid Muay Thai base. He often uses kicks and boxing, but I know I shouldn’t look down on his ground game as he’s very hard to be taken down because of his wushu background,” he said.
“ on the ground. He may have a great takedown defense and takedown, but when it comes to ground game, I think I can take him. That’s his weak spot.”
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