Jenelyn Olsim is turning doubters into believers, and that includes her gym mate in Team Lakay’s Eduard “Landslide” Folayang.
Olsim carried the Philippine flag high in her last outing at ONE 158: Tawanchai vs. Larsen, beating Julie Mezabarba in a hotly contested bout in the atomweight division while pushing herself closer to the weightclasses’ top five.
The 25-year-old pulled out all stops in that match, showing diversity with her attacks as she mixed her trademark Team Lakay striking with takedowns. Such improvements weren’t lost on Folayang.
“She had a great showing in her last performance. Of course that all stems from her hard work in training,” Folayang said.
“Hopefully she continues to work hard and keep that attitude in training, and in the near future, I know she’ll get better and she’ll be closer to her dream of becoming a World Champion.”
The victory bumped Olsim to 3-1 in her ONE career – her only loss coming from wrestling powerhouse Ritu Phogat. That said, there is no doubt in Folayang’s mind that Olsim will go far in MMA, especially with the leaps she continues to make in each match.
For the former ONE Lightweight World Champion, all Olsim needs to do is gain confidence, trust her skill set, and take every opportunity presented to her.
“I think she just has to work on her explosiveness and her confidence, especially when it comes to the ground, and if she develops that, she has a bright future ahead of her,” he said.
Her division will be on the move once again when two young atomweights battle at ONE 159: De Ridder vs. Bigdash on July 22. India’s Zeba Bano takes on Lea Bivins of the United States in the show’s curtain raiser.
The show will be bannered by two-division World Champion Reinier de Ridder, who defends his ONE Middleweight World Title against Vitaly Bigdash.
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