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Team Lakay’s Jenelyn Olsim (5-2) extended her streak in ONE Championship after picking up a unanimous decision victory over the American-Vietnamese “Killer” Bi Nguyen (6-7) at ONE: Battleground III on Friday, August 27, at Singapore Indoor Stadium.
Olsim, the No. 5 ranked strawweight fighter, displayed an impressive all-around performance in her atomweight debut and came inches away from finishing Nguyen without the judges’ help.
The bout quickly turned into a grueling grappling match with Nguyen aggressively shooting for takedowns. But Olsim wisely turned her foe’s aggression in her favor and sneaked in a couple of creative submission attempts in the first round.
After showcasing her ground game early, Olsim shifted the pace and asserted her striking dominance as she dropped Nguyen with a quick right hand in the second round. The Filipina, then, dropped heavy elbows, but the veteran Nguyen survived Olsim’s ground and pound.
The action turned down in the final five minutes for the gassed-out Olsim. Nguyen, on the other hand, saw a huge opportunity and stunned the Filipina with a last-minute flurry of punches.
Olsim, though, managed to hold on and banked on her early dominance to secure her second straight victory and a spot in ONE Women’s Atomweight World Grand Prix, where she will face Grace Cleveland in an alternate bout.
The 24-year-old brawler admitted that the Grand Prix spot gave her extra motivation and believed that she needs to improve her wrestling and conditioning before heading into her next fight.
“Bago pa mag-pandemic, na-announce na ‘yung [atomweight] Grand Prix. Gustong gusto ko talaga mapasama sa fight card doon,” Olsim said. “Ngayon, sobrang saya ko dahil napasali ako sa alternate bout at sobrang excited ako sa next fight ko.“
(I really wanted to be part of the Grand Prix even before they announced it before the pandemic. I’m really happy that I was included for the alternate bout and I’m really excited for my next fight.)
“Mas marami pa akong kailangan i-improve, lalo na sa wrestling ko. Siyempre yung conditioning ko rin, kasi halata naman na napagod talaga ako sa third round,” she added.
(I have a lot of things to improve on, particularly my wrestling. I also have to improve my conditioning because it was apparent that I got exhausted in the third round.)
Olsim will join two other Filipinas – No.1 contender Denice Zamboanga and rising star Jackie Buntan – in all-woman event ONE: Empower on September 3, Friday. Zamboanga will try to stop veteran Seo Hee Ham, while Buntan will face Daniela Lopez in a Muay Thai bout.
ONE: Battleground III Results
- Featherweight Muay Thai – Sitthichai (THA) def. Tawanchai (THA) via split decision
- Catchweight – Dejdamrong (THA) def. Banma Duoji (CHN) via second-round TKO (3:31)
- Flyweight – Xie Wei (CHN) def. Dae Hwan Kim (KOR) via third-round TKO (1:46)
- Atomweight – Jenelyn Olsim (PHI) def. Bi Nguyen (VIE/USA) via unanimous decision
- Bantamweight – Song Min Jong (KOR) def. Tial Thang (MYA) via unanimous decision
- Bantamweight – Purev Otgonjargal (MNG) def. Ben Royle (UK) via first-round KO (0:49)
– Rappler.com
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