Gonzales picks up emotional first win in ONE Championship

Photo from ONE Championship

JAKARTA — The feeling of victory was so foreign for Ramon Gonzales that he was a bit shocked when members of the media approached him after his fight.

But after his impressive showing against Liu De Ri Ge Hu of China on Saturday at ONE: Total Victory here, it won’t take long before he gets the hang of it.

“I’m so emotional earlier because this is my first win in ONE in my three fights. I’m just so happy,” Gonzales said in Filipino.

Exuding confidence from the start, Gonzales (2-2) waited for the perfect opportunity and it came in the second round when he locked Liu (2-3) in a triangle choke to force the tap out at the 1:52 mark and finally taste success at ONE.

“That was our second option, to finish it on the ground. Even if we’re standing, we know that we can match. But I felt I can beat him from the beginning and I just continued being aggressive in the second round until the end of the fight,” he said.

With his first victory in ONE Championship in the bag, Gonzales seeks to continue improving his conditioning as he returns to the lair of Hitman MMA a winner as he set his sights for bigger challenges in the future.

“Whoever ONE gives me, I’ll be sure that I’m ready,” he said. “I’ll continue working on my strength and conditioning because I learned that fights will all depend there. You can’t be out of air.”