‘This Fight Is Huge’ – Team Lakay’s Jeremy Pacatiw Ready To Beat Fabricio Andrade, Join Bantamweight Elite
Jeremy Pacatiw has a chance to propel himself into the bantamweight MMA rankings when he returns for his second promotional appearance at ONE: FULL CIRCLE.
The Team Lakay juggernaut will face off against #4-ranked Fabricio Andrade at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on Friday, 25 February, and a victory over the surging Brazilian would undoubtedly put him among the division’s upper echelon.
Pacatiw looked impressive during his latest fight, where he dominated Chinese dynamo Chen Rui in his ONE Championship debut in July 2021.
That earned him a massive step up in competition, and he’s aware that a victory over Andrade would be a game-changer in his quest for World Title gold.
Ahead of the bout, Pacatiw said:
“This fight is huge for me. It’s big because in my second fight, I get to face a ranked opponent in Andrade. It’s going to be an exciting fight, for sure. I know a win here would give me a chance to crack the rankings and join the elite of the division. That’s why I have to give my best to get the win.”
Andrade has been on a tear since joining ONE Championship. The 24-year-old Brazilian striker has notched up wins over Mark Abelardo, Shoko Sato, and Li Kai Wen, with two of those coming inside the distance.
The Team Lakay juggernaut knows that Andrade is a formidable opponent and dangerous in every area of the game. However, Pacatiw doesn’t believe “Wonder Boy” is unbeatable.
He said:
“Looking at his previous fights, particularly against Shoko Sato, we’ve seen that he’s a very well-rounded fighter. He has very solid striking, and he has a great ground game. But that doesn’t mean that he doesn’t have any weaknesses. Looking at his striking base, he doesn’t use his movement a lot. He’s also not a volume puncher. He picks his punches, but it’s pretty accurate, so it’s something that I still have to be wary of.”
How Can Jeremy Pacatiw Overcome Fabricio Andrade?
Fabricio Andrade has looked incredible during his latest fights, but Team Lakay’s Jeremy Pacatiw is convinced that he has the skills and attributes to cause his opponent a lot of problems.
Equipped with Team Lakay’s world-famous brand of wushu, “The Juggernaut” expects his movement to be better than Andrade’s, with his rival’s background in Muay Thai.
Pacatiw said:
“In a sense, we’re pretty much keeping our game plan from the first fight: utilize my footwork and keep moving. If I stay put, plant my feet, and trade punches with him, that could put me in a very tough spot against him because that’s his game. So I have to use my speed and footwork, keep him guessing, and take him off his rhythm. That’s one of my weapons, my footwork.”
Still, Pacatiw isn’t too fixated on the need to outstrike his foe on the feet. The Team Lakay juggernaut showed a strong offensive wrestling game against Chen Rui in his latest fight, and his main focus will be on getting the victory by any means necessary.
The Baguio City-based fighter would prefer to do it inside the distance and in emphatic fashion, but with the stakes so high, he’ll take any route to get his hand raised in Singapore this Friday.
“A win is a win, so I’ll take anything. But of course, I’ll be looking at that finish. Hopefully, I get a knockout or submission. At the end of the day, the goal is to win whether it be via submission, knockout, or even decision.”
If Pacatiw were to win at ONE: FULL CIRCLE on Friday, he could possibly join fellow Team Lakay fighters Stephen Loman and former ONE Bantamweight World Champion Kevin Belingon in the divisional rankings.
