Team Lakay, is a

martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defence; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; ...

group based in La Trinidad,

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. Officially named Lakay MMA Top Team, it is also known as Lakay Wushu or Lakay MMA. The group was founded in 2003 by mixed martial artist Marquez Sangiao. Sangiao was also head coach of the Cordillera chapter in Baguio for Wushu, and a seasoned martial artist with past experience in kickboxing,

taekwondo Taekwondo (; ; ) is a Korean martial art and combat sport involving primarily kicking techniques and punching. "Taekwondo" can be translated as ''tae'' ("strike with foot"), ''kwon'' ("strike with hand"), and ''do'' ("the art or way"). In ad ...

, and Jiu-Jitsu as well as a martial arts instructor at the

Philippine Military Academy The Philippine Military Academy ( / ) also referred to by its acronym PMA is the premier military academy for Filipinos aspiring for a commission as a military officer of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). It was established on Decembe ...

(PMA) and a coach for Wushu at the

University of the Cordilleras The University of the Cordilleras (UC or UC-BCF; ), formerly known as the Baguio Colleges Foundation (BCF), is a private coeducational university in Baguio, Philippines. Founded by Benjamin R. Salvosa and his wife Evangelina D. Salvosa in 1946 ...

in Baguio City. Team Lakay fighters use a distinctive style which has its roots in

Wushu Wushu may refer to: Martial arts * Chinese martial arts, the various martial arts of China * Wushu (sport) Wushu () (), or kung fu, is a competitive Chinese martial art. It integrates concepts and forms from various traditional and modern ...

Sanshou Sanda (), formerly Sanshou (), is the official China, Chinese kickboxing full-contact combat sport. In Chinese language, Chinese Language, "Sanda" originally referred to independent and separate training and combat techniques in contrast to "Ta ...

. The success of fighters such as

Eduard Folayang Eduard Ayangwa Folayang (born November 22, 1983) is a Filipino professional mixed martial artist and wushu practitioner who competes in the Lightweight division of ONE Championship, where he is a two-time ONE Lightweight World Ch ...

, Honorio Banario and

Kevin Belingon Kevin Indunan Belingon (born October 30, 1987) is a Filipino mixed martial artist. He competed mostly with ONE Championship, where he was the former ONE Bantamweight World Champion and Universal Reality Combat Championship (URCC) Flyweight Cham ...

has helped to establish a reputation in the MMA scene. On October 26, 2011, it was announced that Team Lakay Wushu was to be a part of the ONE FC Network.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

In 2013, Dave Galera became Team Lakay’s first athlete to compete in the

UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. The larg ...

. Galera lost to

Royston Wee Royston Wee (born November 15, 1986) is a Singaporean mixed martial artist, currently competing as a bantamweight. Wee most recently competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He is noted for being the first and only Singaporean fighter ...

at UFC Fight Night 34: Saffiedine vs. Lim and later he was released by the UFC. Mark Eddiva made his debut in The Ultimate Fighter China Finale: Kim vs. Hathaway against

Jumabieke Tuerxun Zhumabek Tursyn () is a Kazakhstani mixed martial arts fighter and trainer. He currently fights as a Bantamweight. Early life Zhumabek is an ethnic Kazakh from the Chinese autonomous region of Xinjiang. Zhumabek trains out of China's elite X ...

, he won via unanimous decision. Following year, Mark Eddiva will face

Kevin Souza Edimilson Souza (born October 17, 1984), professionally known as Kevin Souza, is a Brazilian mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist who competed in the Featherweight (MMA), featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A profess ...

at The Ultimate Fighter Brazil 3 Finale: Miocic vs. Maldonado on May 31, 2014. Mark Eddiva lost via TKO punches in the second round. At UFC Fight Night 43: Te Huna vs. Marquardt on June 28, 2014, Roldan Sangcha-an made his debut in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

against

Richie Vaculik Richie Vaculik ( ; born Richard Vaculik) is a mixed martial artist and big wave surfer from Maroubra, Australia. Richie competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Flyweight division. Early life Vaculic was born in Sydney to a Czec ...

, he lost via unanimous decision. At UFC Fight Night 66: Edgar vs. Faber on May 16, 2015, Eddiva and Sangcha-an are now part in the preliminary card. Both Sangcha-an and Eddiva suffering devastating loss on the preliminary evening.

Rich Franklin's ONE Warrior Series

Lito Adiwang faced Jose Huerta in ONE Warrior Series 3 on October 11, 2018. Lito Adiwang won via KO in the first round. Lito Adiwang faced Alberto Correia in ONE Warrior Series 4 on February 28, 2019. Lito Adiwang won via TKO in the first round. Lito Adiwang faced Anthony Do in ONE Warrior Series 7 on August 6, 2019. Lito Adiwang won via unanimous decision and bagged a contract with

ONE Championship ONE Championship, formerly ONE Fighting Championship (ONE FC) until January 2015, is a Multinational corporation, multinational combat sports Promoter (entertainment), promotion founded on 14 July 2011 by Chatri Sityodtong and Victor Cui. Origi ...

Departure of fighters and establishment of Lions Nation MMA

In March 2023, former ONE Champions

Joshua Pacio Joshua Felix Pacio (born January 10, 1996) is a Filipino Mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist who competes in the Strawweight (MMA), Strawweight division of ONE Championship. He is the three-time and current List of ONE Championship champions ...

and Honorio Banario left Team Lakay. On June 24, it was announced that they had formed their own team, Lions Nation MMA.

Notable Fighters

Current * Geje Eustaquiao (Former

ONE 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

Flyweight Champion) * Jhanlo Mark Sangiao (Mark Sangiao's son) * Adonis Sevilleno * Carlos Alvarez * Carlo Von Bumina-ang *

Jean Claude Saclag Jean Claude Saclag (born September 25, 1994) is a Filipino wushu and kickboxing practitioner. In wushu, he is a gold medalist in Sanda World Cup and a silver medalist in the 2014 Asian Games. Career Wushu Saclag initially competed in internatio ...

Former *

(Former

Lightweight Champion, Former URCC Welterweight Champion) *

(

Strawweight Champion) *

(Former

Bantamweight Champion, Former URCC Flyweight Champion) * Honorio Banario (Former

Featherweight Champion) * Stephen Loman (Former

Brave Brave(s) or The Brave(s) may refer to: Common meanings *Brave, an adjective for one who possesses courage * Braves (Native Americans), a Euro-American stereotype for Native American warriors Film and television * ''Brave'' (1994 film), a concept ...

Bantamweight Champion) * Danny Kingad * Edward Kelly *

Mark Eddiva Mark Eddiva (born February 16, 1986) is a reputed former Filipino wushu Champion and former mixed martial artist who competed in the featherweight division. He is known for having competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). ...

* Dave Galera (Former

Universal Reality Combat Championship Universal Reality Combat Championship (URCC) is the first and only professional mixed martial arts promotion based in the Philippines. Its inaugural event was held at the Casino Filipino Amphitheater in Parañaque, Philippines on November 23, ...

Interim Bantamweight Champion) * Roldan Sangcha-an * Harold Banario * John Cris Corton * Rey Docyogen (Former

Pinweight Champion) * Crisanto Pitpitunge (Former PXC Bantamweight Champion) * Tristan Rebuyaco * Jomar Pa-ac * April Osenio * Gina Iniong * Jenelyn Olsim * Jerry Olsim * Jeremy Pacatiw * Lito Adiwang

References

External links