Stephen Loman has eyes on ONE Championship gold after impressive debut

Former Brave CF bantamweight champion Stephen Loman of Baguio City’s Team Lakay is raring to strut his wares again inside the cage following a highly impressive promotional debut at ONE: Winter Warriors 2.

Loman, 30, defeated a top five opponent in Yusup Saadulaev by way of first-round technical knockout last December. The stoppage win sent shockwaves in the bantamweight division, and his performance was good enough to immediately land him in the no. 3 spot of his weight class.

“It was my debut fight and it is a great feeling to be at the top five after defeating a ranked opponent. I was positive that I will be climbing up the rankings, but surprisingly, they put me in the third spot. I'm so thankful,” said Loman.

“Yusup is not just good at the ground but in striking as well. When I was landing my kicks, he was fast with his punches and that got me. He put me down and when I tried to counter him too, he got a solid chin and a good heart to stand back up again.”

Eager to get a crack at the ONE bantamweight world title soon, Loman also expressed his willingness to face the no. 2 ranked Kwon Won Il, who defeated his teammate Kevin Belingon via second-round knockout.

“I want to show the ever-supportive fans my striking ability and my ground game as well next time I step in the cage. I think Kwon Won will be a good match for me,” Loman stated.

“Expect from me that I will give my everything to stay on the ladder and climb my way up to fight for the title at the soonest.”

—JMB, GMA News