ONE Chairman and Evolve MMA owner says Team Lakay is Asia's best

MANILA - ONE Championship chairman and Evolve MMA owner  Chatri Sityodtong conceded that Baguio City's Team Lakay was the number one mixed martial arts camp in Asia today.

Sityodtong's pronouncement came after Friday's "ONE: Reign of Kings" when Kevin Belingon defeated two-division champion Martin Nguyen to claim the ONE interim bantamweight title.

Former ONE lightweight title holder Eduard Folayang and Joshua Pacio also saw action on the undercard and made a clean sweep in impressive fashion for team Philippines against top caliber opponents.

Prior to "ONE: Reign of Kings" at the Mall of Asia Arena, Team Lakay's Geje Eustaquio was crowned the undisputed ONE flyweight champion after he defeated jiu-jitsu black belt Adriano Moraes of Brazil.

"A fan just asked me who I think is the best fight team in Asia. I have massive respect for all fight teams, but I believe there is no question that Team Lakay is now the #1 fight team in Asia today," Sityodtong wrote on a social media post.

"Despite a very modest budget and limited resources, Mark Sangiao (Team Lakay head coach) has produced one of the best fight teams in the world. Every fighter on Team Lakay is a genuine monster with outstanding skills, unlimited cardio, and extraordinary gameness. Also, equally important, all of their fighters are constantly improving and upgrading their skills."

Sityodtong's Evolve MMA is regarded as one of the top MMA gyms in the world and is the most renowned in Asia. His team has produced world champions in Muay Thai, UFC and ONE Championship, including the likes of Rafael Dos Anjos, Shinya Aoki, and Angela Lee.

Despite his own team's achievements and incredible roster, Sityodtong attempted to be fair-minded on the subject and explained why he believed Team Lakay was number one.

"It is amazing to see how much Eduard Landslide Folayang, Kevin Belingon, Geje Eustaquio, Honorio Banario, Edward Kelly, Joshua Felix Pacio, Danny Kingad, and the rest of the team have evolved over the years. Team Lakay is a scary learning machine. I also love the fact that Team Lakay is a close-knit family that sticks together in good, bad, and ugly times," said Sityodtong.

"It reminds me of my favorite African proverb. If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together. Above all though, Team Lakay fighters are true martial artists and wonderful human beings who live and exemplify the deep-rooted Asian values of integrity, humility, honor, respect, courage, discipline, and compassion. They are real-life superheroes." — DVM, GMA News