CEBUANO MMA prospect Allan Albino suffered another loss in the international stage after a split decision defeat to Indonesian “Prince” Toreq in an action-packed curtain-raiser of Rich Franklin’s ONE Warrior Series (OWS) 9 on Dec. 4, 2019 in Singapore.
Albindo was very aggressive at the onset and dropped Toreq with a solid right hook to the head. He tried to finish him off but Toreq was able to survive the round and even landed some good shots near the end of the round.
Toreq didn’t show signs of being hurt and started to gain momentum in the second round by using his long reach and vicious knees.
Toreq became more effective in the third round and landed with his punches and knees as Albindo seemed to tire out.
At the end of the bell, Toreq’s hand was raised.
Despite the defeat, Albindo’s chances of winning the six-figure ONE Championship contract is still alive as he has not been released by the organization.
“He’ll still be given a fight. Rich Franklin appreciated his performance. But it was a waste because he could have won but he didn’t follow up with his strikes in the third. He didn’t listen to his corner maybe because he hurt his foot. We will bounce back,” Yaw-Yan Ardigma Cebu founder Master Benigno “Ekin” Caniga told SunStar Cebu.
Albindo dropped his second fight in the OWS after losing to Manthan Rane in his international debut.
“We’ll just have to train harder and wait until we are called up again,” said Caniga.
Albindo dropped 1-2, while Toreq improved to 4-3.
Two other Filipinos lost in the same card. Rockie Bactol (1-2) got knocked out by Chinese Xie Wei (5-2) in the opening round, while Rocel Catalan (1-2) also got knocked out in the first round by South Korean Ji Yeon Seo (9-4). (EKA)