God’s Warrior beats ‘one of the toughest I’ve faced’
Rockie Bactol won his second featherweight bout, conquering not only an ambitious opponent but also his own nerves, in the main event of Thailand Fighting Championship 6 on Saturday in Pattaya.
The fighter known as “God’s Warrior” says Samuel Alexander had kept him up at night in the leadup to their MMA match.
“Mentally, he got to me,” admits Bactol. “I couldn’t sleep, mainly thinking about the size difference.”
And Alexander was a strong competitor in reality, too. “One of the toughest opponents I ever faced,” was the winner’s assessment of his American foe.
No rushing in, but still a first-round finish
This may explain Bactol taking a more measure approach than fans are used to seeing – though the Filipino insists that was his strategy all along.
“My team mates told me to take it slow,” he says. “As you know, I’m always in a rush, ready to bang, but this time I took my time, circling around.
“Then, two minutes in, he [Alexander] threw a kick and I checked the kick, threw some jabs and saw an opening, threw a right hand, and he dropped.
“I pinned him down and started pounding, but he was very strong, very heavy; he gave me a hard time and it was hard to keep him down.
“Eventually he turned his back. With one minute to go [in the first round], he gave me his back, so I got in the rear naked choke – Boom! There you go! An immediate finish; he tapped out.”
Bigger, calmer and more disciplined
Bactol says he feels comfortable in his new division, and that a newfound discipline and calm will be key to taking his career to the next level.
“I think I’m a natural big boy fighter,” says the former bantamweight.
“This was the fourth big boy match I’ve fought. There was another featherweight [Malinda Amarasinghe], this guy came down from lightweight, and I’ve had two openweight fights, traditional MMA style, including one against a heavyweight.”
That was an experimental affair against the ultimate “natural big boy fighter” in the iconic Tangmo. Impressively, Bactol won, and the fact he even took the match in the first place shows his ambition and versatility.
Indeed, the 23-year-old has also competed in boxing, muay Thai, bareknuckle and Fight Circus gimmick matches, but is now focused on improving his already stellar reputation in MMA.
“I want to be 7-2 [in pro MMA] by the end of the year,” he says. “That’s two more, so I’m taking my time.”
That’s exactly what he did in this match, despite its one-round finish.
And there was no rushing in after the fight, either.
Whereas before Bactol would have celebrated a win by hitting the nightspots, on this occasion he settled for a meal with his team mates.
“I quit alcohol nine-10 months ago, and everything that makes me trip,” he says.
“Now, I just focus on my goals.
“If I win, I drink a Coca-Cola!”
Leave a Reply