Honorio Banario Preparing For Manila Card Injury Free

Honorio “The Rock” Banario was excited to hear that he would be facing Rich Franklin’s ONE Warrior Series alum Dae Sung Park on August 2 at ONE: DAWN OF HEROES.

It has been six months since his last match, which was against Lowen Tynanes in a quarter-final match in the ONE Lightweight World Grand Prix at ONE: HERO’S ASCENT. Banario was eliminated after getting knocked out in the first round. But he will return to the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila seeking redemption.

“I find my match with Lowen 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.”

Because of the rain, Baguio City has been experiencing recently, Banario and the rest of Team Lakay have been unable to train outdoors. Under the guidance of coach Mark Sangiao, the five Team Lakay athletes, who will be competing on the same card, have been training efficiently to avoid any injuries.

“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.”

Now that he has another chance to perform in front of his fellow Filipinos, Banario is eager to redeem himself, and at the same time motivate his Team Lakay brothers in their own bouts.

“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.”