Jomary “The Zamboanginian Fighter” Torres’ journey to being a ONE Championship athlete was far from easy, especially for someone who had to travel miles from her hometown to try and give her family a better life.
Mixed martial arts was not even a consideration for Torres when she first got to the country’s capital, but it was no less than Rene “The Challenger” Catalan who gave her a shot in competing in martial arts full time.
“It was coach Rene who gave me a chance to train in CFS. He always pushes me to be better, and win or lose, despite all the struggles, he never stops motivating me,” Torres said.
“He always reminds me to not give up [or] lose hope, that he’s always there to guide me. I am just grateful to meet him.”
Torres came into Metro Manila from Zamboanga del Norte to try her luck in landing a job.
She found one as a nanny in Taguig City, a business district in the capital region. But as fate would have it, that was not what life had planned for her.
During her time as a nanny, Torres met Rene’s brother, Ruel, who frequently trained at a gym near the school of the child she was taking care of.
Ruel then introduced Torres to his older brother, and the rest was history for the two.
Upon receiving an offer to join Catalan Fighting System, the 24-year-old did not think twice to leave her job as a nanny and start a new chapter of her life as a mixed martial artist.
“Coach Rene really pushed me to feed my competitive spirit. He saw that I was willing to learn, though I had zero background in martial arts before,” Torres said.
“He treats me like family. What’s important for coach is that he sees that you take the training seriously and [take] all his lessons to heart.”
Without Catalan, Torres would not get to compete in the largest martial arts organization in the world. And as she continues to gasp for air amid a four-match losing skid, Torres is dedicating this match to her coach, the man who took a take with her before she took a chance on herself.
Torres battles Jenny “Lady GoGo” Huang at ONE: FIRE & FURY on 31 January at the Mall Of Asia Arena in Manila, Philippines, and she hopes to make her head coach proud with a decisive performance.
“If I hadn’t met coach Rene, I don’t know where I’ll be right now. Maybe I’d still be taking care of children. That’s why I am so grateful for him. He was really patient with me from the start. I would not be where I am today if not for him,” Torres said.
“I’ll continue to give my best. I’ll do everything to win, and I’ll win this for coach Rene and all the people who believe in me.”
Will hometown advantage play a role in ending Jomary Torres’ four-match losing skid? Find out at ONE: FIRE & FURY when she takes on Jenny Huang on the lead card.
