Angelie Sabanal gains lessons from early loss in Shanghai

Photo from ONE Championship

MANILA, Philippines—Experience is the best teacher and Angelie Sabanal was reminded about on Saturday in her match against Itsuki Hirata of Japan in ONE: Legendary Quest in Shanghai, China.

Sabanal came in prepared and yet she wasn’t ready for what Hirata had to offer as she suffered a first-round loss by submission.

“When I climbed the ring, of course, there are nerves but I got over it,” Sabanal said.

“We prepared hard this match, but you know, it’s different in there. I still followed our gameplan, but of course, our opponent was that strong.“

The Cagayan de Oro native found herself caught in a tight Americana lock that gave him no choice but to tap out at the 2:59 mark of the opening round.

Sabanal took a tough loss that she also drew valuable lessons from moving forward.

“Most of my previous opponents were strikers, now we’re up against a grappler and now we know what she’s capable of,” said Sabanal.

“So now we’re back to working on our submission game, the Jiu Jitsu and the wrestling, that’s essential. Hopefully, we get to work on that.”

Sabanal remains upbeat and motivated as she aims to deliver a much better performance in her return to the cage.

”We practiced how to defend in the ground but she really knows what she’s doing in there. But we’ll work on it.”