ONE: Catalan determined to strive harder as age catches up

Rabin Catalan. Photo by Randolph B. Leongson/ INQUIRER.net

BANGKOK — Instead of talking to the press, Rabin Catalan would rather let his game do the talking.

“I feel nervous in interviews. In fights, I’m alright,” he shared.

But as he fielded questions from the reporters, Catalan had more stories to share than what he initially thought.

He shared that he is entering the cage this Saturday at ONE: Warriors of the World with a lot of emotions.

Catalan (4-3) is dedicating his match against Kritsada Kongsrichai (5-1) of Thailand at Impact Arena here to his departed friend Rocky Batolbatol, who passed away last July.

The 31-year-old also knows that he’s slowly running out of time in his mixed martial arts career.

“I have lots of inspirations going to this fight. (Batolbatol) is one of them, together with my family and also my career. We’re getting older so we have to strive harder,” he said.

Catalan said he is more than ready to step back in the cage and snap his two-match skid.

“The promoters said that I might have a fight on November in Myanmar and I was preparing for that, but that didn’t push through. I have trained well and I have trained long and I can say that I’m really ready for this December fight,” he said.

Catalan also likes his chances against Kongsrichai given that the two of them are in an even keel when it comes to their strengths.

“We’re both strikers and I know wrestling since he’s also a wrestler. I think this will be a good fight because we have the same skill and it all depends on who has the better conditioning,” he said as he eyes to once again have his arms raised. “I’ve worked hard to get here, so I’ll continue with this and hope that I get the win.”