After Holly Holm, Filipino-American Ana Julaton (0-0) will become just the second fighter in recent years to make the transition to Mixed Martial Arts, from the vicious circles of a pro Boxing ring.
ONE Fighting Championship officials announced this week that Julaton, 33, will make her promotional debut for the organization on May 2 next month, at ONE FC 15: Rise of Heroes in Manila against a yet-to-be-determined opponent.
Julaton is a former WBA and IBA super Bantamweight Boxing world champ. She is of Filipino descent, with a pro Boxing record of 13-4-1.
Nicknamed ‘The Hurricane’, she won the first four of her five pro Boxing outings, and in her sixth fight, was awarded a shot at the WBC International Super Bantamweight title. She suffered the first setback of her career then, dropping a razer-close split decision defeat to Dominga Oliva.
She has black belts in both Tae Kwon Do and Kenpo Karate, and in a statement to Yahoo! Sports, Julaton admitted her decision to take up MMA was simple – she was impressed with the wide array of offensive maneuvers available in the Mixed Martial Arts landscape.
“I have the background in martial arts and I’ve always had an interest in the UFC. But I started training in Las Vegas and that gave me the chance to go out and watch the fights more regularly,” said Julaton. “Doing that, I saw how there were so many different options. In boxing, you’re limited to your left and right hands. In MMA, I understand kicks. I understand the ground game. It was so intriguing being able to fight with all these tools, not just my hands.”
Julaton is 5-2 in championship Boxing match-ups, and has trained with legendary Boxing trainer Freddie Roach among others.
The 33-year-old won’t be leaving Boxing just yet though, and instead, has plans to return to the ring on May 29 in a possible championship match-up.
________________________________________________________________________________
Follow Thinesh on Twitter (@ThineshJohnMMA), and keep up with the latest MMA news from MMASucka via Twitter (@MMASucka) and Facebook
