ONE Championship chairman reveals favorite Filipino MMA fighter

MACAU — ONE Championship chairman Chatri Sityodtong has nothing but praises for Filipino mixed martial arts fighters. Easily one of the most influential figures in the world of MMA today, Sityodtong cites that fighting is rooted deep within the blood of Filipinos.

"Filipino fighters are warriors, they are fighters at heart. It's something in their blood like Manny [Pacquiao]. I've been very, very impressed. They're world class MMA athletes and they only get better and better specially Team Lakay," said Sityodtong.

"They're really unbelievable. Unbelievable cardio, unbelievable conditioning, explosive, amazing strikers and getting better at wrestling, getting better at Jiu-Jitsu, getting better at the whole MMA game. I expect big things from Team Lakay in the coming years."

Sityodtong also happens to be the head honcho of Asia's premier MMA gym that is Evolve. He revealed who his favorite Filipino fighter is, and pointed out that the Philippines has a strong ground game background despite criticisms that Filipino fighters lack skill when a fight is taken to the mat.

"I have a personal favorite: Kevin Belingon. I think that guy could be a world champion in the future. He's so explosive, so fast, his wrestling and ground game is getting better. He's just an exceptional athlete," said Sityodtong.

"What's funny is Filipino Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is actually one of the strongest in Asia, but MMA athletes haven't necessarily picked up that level of Jiu-Jitsu. We have amazing black belts in the Philippines like Alvin Aguilar so I think it's only a matter of time before Filipino fighters pick up the ground game even more deeply," he said.

He added: "They're good, they're improving, every time I see them it's getting better and better." —ALG, GMA News