April Osenio, with Team Lakay stablemate Gina Iniong, is still all smiles after her defeat to Xiong Jingnan. Photo by Randolph B. Leongson/INQUIRER.net
BANGKOK — Failing to mark her return to the cage with a victory, April Osenio (2-3) refused to make excuses and instead, admitted that her Chinese foe was the better fighter Saturday night.
“This night wasn’t for me,” she quipped in Filipino after falling to Xiong Jingnan (10-1) at ONE: Warriors of the World at Impact Arena here.
It was supposed to be a flyweight duel but Xiong failed to make the weight and the organizers had to make it a catchweight bout at 57.3-kilograms.
Still, Osenio discarded the Chinese’s weight edge and said: “It’s not an excuse because I really lost.”
Osenio escaped a guillotine choke midway in the first round, but failed to keep up with Xiong’s striking, losing by technical knockout at the 3:44 mark of the first round.
“I wasn’t able to do my game plan,” she said as she tried to fight back her tears.
But rather than mope, the 23-year-old Osenio is looking forward to bounce back together with her stablemates as Team Lakay seeks to make an impact once again next year.
“This night might not be for me, but I’m still young. I need to improve and go back to the gym to improve my weaknesses,” Osenio said as she now concentrates full time on her mixed martial arts career after obtaining her criminology degree from the University of the Cordilleras.
“This didn’t go our way, so we’ll bounce back next time.”