Honorio “The Rock” Banario will be returning to the biggest global stage of martial arts competition to face “Crazy Dog” Dae Sung Park at ONE: DAWN OF HEROES on August 2 in Manila, Philippines.
Banario recently fell to Hawaiian Elite MMA representative Lowen Tynanes in the first round of the ONE Lightweight World Grand Prix at ONE: HERO’S ASCENT.
Eyeing a return to the winner’s circle, “The Rock” has been training non-stop to give another great performance in front of his countrymen. He says his previous outing serves as a lesson, and that he vows to showcase his improvements moving forward.
“I find my match with Lowen [Tynanes] as somewhat bittersweet,” Banario said.
“I did my best in that match but Lowen proved to be the better man that night. He was quick in taking me down and I failed to defend myself on time. I have learned a lot from that match and I will be taking those lessons in my upcoming bout.”
Tynanes, Ariel Sexton, and Timofey Nastyukhin all had to pull out of the high-profile tournament due to injuries. Although he has already bowed out of the tournament, the Baguio City native is training efficiently with his stablemates at Team Lakay to avoid any injury. Banario is one of five Team Lakay athletes preparing for the blockbuster Manila event.
“Coach Mark always plans our daily training menu with our efficiency and safety in mind,” Banario said.
“Even though there are five of us competing in Manila, we have always been training independently with our partners in the same weight division. We know the pressure coach Mark is feeling with roughly half of his athletes competing on the same night so we also do our part and train diligently.”
The former ONE Featherweight World Champion is eager to get back into action especially with his teammates sharing the stage in front of their Filipino fans.
“This is the perfect opportunity for me to win,” Banario concluded.
“It is unfortunate that great athletes are getting injured and even though I’m out of the tournament, I will be doing my best to win on behalf of them as well as all the fans who are supporting us in my upcoming match.”
