Team Lakay’s Jenelyn Olsim. ONE CHAMPIONSHIP PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines–Jenelyn Olsim, the fast-rising talent out Team Lakay, is back in ONE’s Atomweight World Grand Prix picture, the Inquirer learned on Wednesday.
The Filipino fighter will be taking on Malaysian grappler Jihin Radzuan in the promotion’s tape-delayed card, Nextgen II, on Nov. 12 at Singapore Indoor Stadium.
A national Muay Thai athlete who has been on a tear in the pro circuit, Olsim was originally scheduled to face Grace Cleveland for an alternate bout in the Prix. An undisclosed medical condition, however, decommissioned the latter, leaving the 24-year-old prospect from Benguet out in the cold.
“I’m staying positive despite what happened,” she said. “I know there’s still a lot of opportunities awaiting me, so I just have to be prepared every time.”
Olsim will be coming off two spectacular victories heading into her next fight. She has wowed pundits with her all-around game and her crisp striking which has long been a specialty of fighters coming out of the famed Lakay stable.
She swiftly disposed of Maira Mazar by way of a guillotine choke in her promotional debut, then handily beat Bi Nguyen in her fight moving down to atomweight.
Radzuan, for her part, will enter the match a vengeful fighter. She has bowed to Filipino fighters in the past, losing to the division’s top-ranked contender Denice Zamboanga and Gina Iniong, Olsim’s senior.
Alternate bouts are workarounds the promotion has devised to plug sudden changes to its matches. Olsim and Radzuan can follow Brazil’s Julie Mezabarba who earned a wildcard spot in the Prix’s final four after Seo Hee Ham was forced to withdraw due to an injury.