Lakay upbeat of chances in FC

HONORIO Banario’s featherweight title match in the One Fighting Championship may finally push through.

But the Team Lakay fighter will still have to wait for at least two months to finally lay claim on the featherweight crown after he was supposed to fight for it last month in Asia’s largest mix martial arts (MMA) promotion based in Singapore.

“Hopefully February next year,” said Banario, one of the five mix martial arts champion of the Baguio based Team Lakay which includes welterweight Eduard Folayang, flyweight Kevin Belingon, and pinweight Rey Docyogen.

All four hold titles in the Universal Reality Combat Championship, the country’s premiere and first MMA promotion while the fifth one belongs to Crisanto Pitpitunge who won the bantamweight title earlier this year in the Guam based Pacific Xtreme Combat.

Banario was supposed to be included in the last One FC event dubbed Rise of Kings in Singapore after his stellar performance in knocking out fellow Filipino MMA fighter Andrew Benibe during the Philippine One FC event dubbed ‘Pride of Nations’.

The current URCC lightweight champion is hopeful he would once again return to the ring after almost two months and is being eyed to face off against fellow Baguio born fighter Eric Kelly, now based in Malaysia.

Kelly has an unbeaten record of eight wins in his mix martial arts career including an impressive knock out of UFC veteran Jens Pulver which could have set up an All-Filipino championship in the featherweight division of ONE FC against Banario.

One FC chief executive Victor Cui earlier said both Kelly and Banario will contest the featherweight belt but the fight got stalled after Kelly was advised to defend his featherweight crown in the URCC come December.

Banario was however included in the Rise of Kings event with Bae Young Kwon as his opponent but the fight did not push through. (Roderick Osis)