IT wasn’t exactly the debut that Team Lakay head coach Mark Sangiao had in mind for his impressive student Carlo “The Bull” Bumina-ang, but he’s proud with how the newest ONE Championship signee from his squad handled himself.
Bumina-ang fell victim to Enkh-Orgil Baatarkhuu, as the Mongolian added yet another Filipino to his list of victims when he submitted the Team Lakay rising star at ONE Fight Night 24 earlier this month.
According to Sangiao, he expects Bumina-ang to keep pushing forward.
“The pill was hard to swallow. I refuse to believe that that was Carlo inside the ring. It was not him, no. It was a different person. I know what he is capable of. I know how he is wired, but it is what it is,” Sangiao said.
“Victory and defeat are conjoined but the thing is, we got a door opened for us to see what went wrong and what could have been, then we’ll pick up from there.”
What impressed Sangiao the most was how Bumina-ang pushed through despite getting sick leading up to the bout.
While the soft-spoken mentor isn’t using that as an excuse – because he knows that minor injuries or sicknesses are a normal part of MMA – he’s sharing it to highlight Bumina-ang’s mental strength and willingness to show up.
“I’m commending Carlo for his mental toughness knowing that he came from a bad sickness a week before the fight. No excuses here but with that endurance and attitude he has, I am sure this is just his starting point,” he said.
“It was not his time now. It was not our time, but we are here to stay. ‘The Bull’ and the team will charge again soon!”
For now, the breakthrough that Team Lakay has been looking for remains elusive, as the team’s next best bet once again ran into a brick wall named Baatarkhuu.
But Sangiao remains confident that Bumina-ang is still one of the deadliest fighters in the division, and he has a team that is capable of maximizing that.
“We have been here many times before and this single slip will not dictate how it will be tomorrow or the next day or the next,” he said.
“I know some of you will slam us through this time, but we will keep on as we always [do].”
