MANILA, Philippines – Filipino fighter Rocky Batolbatol will have the opportunity to strut his wares inside the ONE Championship cage again as he is set to face Dutch stalwart Anthony Engelen on the undercard of the promotion’s next event in Jakarta, Indonesia, on February 20.
Although Asia’s largest mixed martial arts (MMA) organization has yet to publicly announce the 3-round featherweight bout, a reliable source confirmed the fight booking to Rappler.
Batolbatol (5-1) was last seen in action when he suffered a second-round submission defeat at the hands of Australian combatant Martin Nguyen in his November 2014 promotional debut.
The 30-year-old native of Bacolod City, Negros Occidental made a name for himself in Philippine-based MMA promotions such as Universal Reality Combat Championship (URCC), Mindanao Ultimate Mixed Martial Arts and Ground & Pound Championship.
Since making the transition from professional boxing in 2011, Batolbatol spearheaded his MMA career with 4-straight stoppage victories, owning back-to-back submission wins over Johnjier Edu Torbiso and knocking out the likes of Elmer Tortogo and Erving Mosico.
The 5-foot-7 “Outlaw” went the distance for the first time in October 2013 when he outpointed Darl Laurel via unanimous decision at URCC’s “Bacolod Brawl” affair.
Like Batolbatol, Engelen (3-1) is also coming off second-round submission setback, yielding to Brazilian prospect Bruno Pucci by way of rear-naked choke this past December.
Engelen, a 30-year-old Dutch who is based and trains in Indonesia, started his prizefighting run with a 3-fight winning streak.
Aside from Batolbatol, two other Filipinos are rumored to be part of the unnamed ONE fight card, which takes place at the 8,000-seater Istora Senayan in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Trestle Tan makes his return to action following his 90-second knockout loss to Taiwan’s Jeff Huang last November, while URCC Cebu alumnus Jimmy Yabo seeks his first win in ONE Championship after losing two-consecutive outings in 2015. – Rappler.com