00:00The three-time Southeast Asian Games gold medalist, John Claude Saklag,
00:05made his WON Championship debut against South Korean Lee Jun Young.
00:09Here's Paolo Salamatti.
00:14The 29-year-old team, the mainstay of Jean-Claude Saklag,
00:18showed off an explosive performance
00:20in his return to the professional mixed martial arts stage
00:23after beating South Korean opponent Lee Jun Young
00:26in their WON Championship flyweight match
00:29last Friday in Bangkok, Thailand.
00:31Saklag only needed 24 seconds in the match
00:35to make a heavy overhand right
00:38that made him fall to South Korean fighter Salona
00:41who followed the combination to the face
00:43before the referee stopped the match via technical knockout.
00:47In the PTV Sports interview, Saklag said
00:50that it was a big help for him to reach the amateur level
00:53by winning the gold medal
00:55in the next three editions
00:57of the Southeast Asian Games
00:58in his return to the professional MMA career.
01:01I was so nervous
01:03when I was preparing for the match.
01:06After the match, I was so happy
01:09because I knew that I could beat him
01:14but I didn't expect it to be that fast.
01:18Saklag also admitted that it was a big effect for him
01:22to win the unanimous decision loss
01:24in the first professional MMA fight of 2019
01:26against Ryo Okada of Japan.
01:29It was a blessing in disguise
01:30because when I lost, I tried harder to practice
01:34because I saw that I needed to improve my steps
01:37because I saw the results online.
01:39Now, I saw the results.
01:43For now, Saklag will return to practice
01:45under the bad kickboxing of the Philippines
01:47to prepare for the upcoming Asian Kickboxing Championships
01:51that will be held in October in Thailand.
01:53Paulo Salamatin for Pambansang TV in Bagong, Philippines.
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