Jeremy “The Juggernaut” Pacatiw departed from Team Lakay to join Lions Nation MMA, and his choice boiled down to one thing - familiarity.

Jeremy “The Juggernaut” Pacatiw. (ONE Championship photo)

Two-time ONE Lightweight World Champion Eduard “Landslide” Folayang announced the formation of his newest squad over the weekend, bringing Pacatiw, Edward Kelly and former ONE World Champions Joshua Pacio, Kevin Belingon, and Honorio Banario to the team.

Pacatiw is one of Team Lakay’s brightest young fighters. The 27-year-old is coming off a brilliant submission win of Tial Thang, a win that netted him a US$50,000 performance bonus from ONE Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong.

Still, jumping over to Folayang’s camp was a no-brainer for Pacatiw given the relationship he has built with his kuyas during their time on Team Lakay.

“I decided to join the team because of my seniors. Our relationship is extremely solid, [and] it’s easier to work with one another because we have a better understanding of one another. That’s one of my reasons,” he said.

One of the most exciting things for Pacatiw is getting to work with Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu coach Gibran Langbayan, who’s one of the few BJJ black belts in the country.

The 36-year-old has a solid BJJ background and was promoted by Prof. Leonardo Fernandes in February 2022 after studying and competing in the sport for nearly a decade.

Having a dedicated BJJ coach now in his corner, Pacatiw believes his game is about to expand even more.

“I’m really excited. I have learned so much with our new coaches and trainers. We have professor Gibran (Langbayan) teaching us Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. It’s nice [to] have a dedicated BJJ coach,” he said.

“Now it’s all about teamwork. We will get to see how much we have improved with this change.”

That, alongside working with four former titleholders on the team, is all the convincing that Pacatiw truly needed.

“Four of our guys in our camp became [ONE] World Champions, so I know they’ll be able to share their experiences with me and mold me into a better fighter,” he said.

“Hopefully we’ll get that chance to compete for the [ONE Championship] belt soon.”