Rene Catalan earns fourth straight win with finish of Peng Xue Wen

ONE Championship veteran Rene “The Challenger” Catalan of Manila, Philippines, continued his resurgence, turning in a spectacular all-around performance against China’s Peng Xue Wen to win his fourth straight bout inside the ONE cage.

Catalan, a two-time wushu world champion, showcased his tremendous striking skills, and surprisingly got the better of Peng, a Chinese national wrestling champion, on the ground.

The two locked horns in a three-round strawweight contest on the main card of ONE: KINGS OF COURAGE, which took place Saturday, 20 January at the Jakarta Convention Center in Indonesia. “The Challenger” scored a technical knockout victory with a furious barrage of strikes, prompting referee Olivier Coste to call a halt to the contest at 4:22 of the second round.

Catalan, 18 years Peng’s senior, looked to be the fresher man throughout the competitive bout. Despite Peng’s advantage in grappling, Catalan was able to easily escape many submission attempts for the duration to the contest. The Filipino stalwart was visibly quicker, busier, and more powerful than his Chinese counterpart.

In the opening round, “The Challenger” tagged Peng repeatedly with punch and kick combinations, with stinging inside leg kicks taking the steam out of Peng early. By the middle of the first frame, Peng was noticeably hesitant and more cautious of his opponent’s superior striking ability.

Every time the action hit the ground, Catalan found a way to scramble into top position, where Peng appeared uncomfortable. In the second frame, Peng’s tentativeness turned out to be his downfall, as Catalan took advantage of his opponent’s unwillingness to engage by bringing the heat right up against the cage fence.

A liver shot hurt the Chinese athlete and sent him reeling to the canvas, where Catalan put on the finishing touches with a steady volley of ground and pound to coerce the referee to stop the contest.

This marks Catalan’s fourth straight victory, and one of the most impressive in his career. With the win, Catalan improves his record to 4-2-0, 1 NC.