Team Lakay head coach Mark Sangiao has witnessed a profound transformation in his son Jhanlo Mark Sangiao following the bantamweight’s first professional MMA defeat, with the veteran coach emphasizing how the loss served as a crucial learning experience.
The 22-year-old fighter suffered a submission loss to #4-ranked contender Enkh-Orgil Baatarkhuu at ONE Fight Night 13, ending his perfect start to his ONE Championship career after three consecutive first-round submission victories.
This change in mindset will be big for Jhanlo as he looks for a rebound win when he faces Shinechagtga Zoltsetseg at ONE Fight Night 33 on July 12 at Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
“The change I saw in him since that loss is his mindset. He himself admitted it – back then he thought he could coast through opponents and beat them handily. I think he learned the hard way,” the elder Sangiao said.
Coach Mark believes the defeat has given his son a clearer understanding of the level of competition he now faces in ONE Championship’s bantamweight division.
“Now he’s seeing what it takes to be a professional. He’s facing professional fighters now, he’s facing world-class fighters here now,” he continued.
The Team Lakay patriarch emphasized how the experience has opened Jhanlo’s eyes to the significant step up in competition from his previous opponents.
“He now understands there’s a huge difference between the fighters he was facing back then to the ones he’s facing right now,” Sangiao added.
Rather than viewing the loss as a setback, the veteran coach sees it as an invaluable lesson that could accelerate his son’s development in the long term.
“Either we win or we learn right? And he got a big lesson from that fight. I remember Enkh-Orgil talking to him after the fight and he was telling him, ‘you’re still young,’” he said.
“That only goes to show how he can go a long way if he takes things to the next level
