Honorio Banario Welcomes Late Replacement Opponent In Manila

He may not meet the opponent he expected to at ONE: CONQUEST OF CHAMPIONS, but Honorio “The Rock” Banario does not care.

The former ONE Featherweight World Champion received news this week that he would face a new challenge at the Mall Of Asia Arena, as Rahul “The Kerala Krusher” Raju stepped up on short notice to face him in the cage.

However, the Team Lakay veteran is just happy to keep his spot on the card this Friday, 23 November in Manila, Philippines.

“All I want is to compete,” the 29-year-old from Mankayan, Benguet says.

“What I want is to step inside the cage. I want to redeem myself as soon as possible because I didn’t get a favorable outcome in my last outing.

“I’m just happy that Rahul Raju stepped in to take this bout on short notice.”

The match-up will be contested at a catch weight of  79-kilograms.

Banario will come in with the experience advantage, as this will only be Raju’s third outing in the world’s largest martial arts organization, but the Filipino hero will not underestimate his opponent.

The 27-year-old from India trains out of the Juggernaut Fight Club in Singapore and is an Ultimate Satira Champion.

However, “The Rock” is sure he will get his hand raised and achieve his eighth win in The Home Of Martial Arts, as well as his fifth win in a row competing on home soil.

“Raju is a tough athlete, but I see flaws in his game,” he explains.

“I do not want to underestimate him because that was the mistake I made in my last bout.

“I won’t predict how the contest will end, but I am confident of getting a victory on Friday.”