Muay Thai fighter Bomogao is hungry for more after a debut in the ONE Championship

After a successful debut in the ONE Championship Muay Thai circuit last November 8 against Japan’s Fuu, Islay Erika Bomogao is ready to go again.  

“I wish to compete here again. I promise I will continue to train. I will wait for more opportunities,”  she said. 

She described her transition in One Championship as a little bit weird and awkward, especially because it was the first time she wore four ounce gloves for Muay Thai. 

“It’s weird. Coming from an amateur background since I was 16, I was competing with headgear, competing with 10-ounce gloves. I had a body vest on when I was a junior fighter. When I put on four-ounce gloves for the first time, it was awkward. I was excited, but there was definitely unease at first. I was thinking, ‘[The gloves] are so small, and of course it would be nice if I landed a punch using these gloves, but what if I’m the one on the receiving end?’,” Bomogao stated.

“But as time passed, I felt like I was able to adjust, and [when] I got hit, I realized it doesn’t hurt that much.”

Bomogao showed off her arsenal and fulfilled her pre-fight promise that she will not be the typical Muay Thai striker. She also utilized her footwork and speed, and unleashed a variety of kicks against her Japanese opponent.

"I'm happy that I was able to show new tricks, tricks that aren't usually seen in Muay Thai. I was throwing hook kicks, I was throwing back kicks," said Bomogao.

"I wanted to show that Muay Thai is so much more than roundhouse kicks, teeps, punches and elbows. We can be creative as well and put on new moves; that's what I'm happy about," she added.

Coming in as one of the biggest amateur Muay Thai stars from the Philippines, it took some time for Bomogao to get used to the new style. But once she got a feel for it, all that awkwardness went away.

Bomogao was  happy and was able to execute her game plan, despite coming in with plenty of hype and pressure.

"Personally, I think it was a good performance. I think I was able to execute my game plan, control her with my teeps, use my boxing, and move around. But the overall assessment would be really up to my coaches, because they're the ones who are really watching," Bomogao remarked.