Despite a setback in her ONE Championship debut, Mariane Mariano remains upbeat and committed to improving. She’s returning to training but, for now, will also focus on her coaching duties.
The 2008 wushu sanda bronze medalist fell to Japan’s Norika Ryu at ONE Friday Fights 83 on October 18. “Nothing will change for me; I’ll keep training and teaching,” she told this writer via Facebook Messenger.
“As of now, we just arrived in Bali, Indonesia, to prepare our fighter who will be competing here. So for now, I’m on coach duty,” she added.
In her debut at the legendary Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, the 36-year-old Tuba native started strong, initiating a dynamic takedown within the first minute. Ryu, however, quickly returned to her feet, while Mariano kept the pressure on in the clinch and attempted a guillotine choke, forcing the action to the mat.
The maneuver allowed Ryu to take control, mounting Mariano and landing a series of short strikes. Mariano eventually escaped, but not until nearly two minutes had passed.
In the second round, Mariano found success with her hooks, though Ryu countered with an armbar attempt. Mariano defended, keeping Ryu within range to land effective left jabs and right straights. She relied on her takedown defense to fend off Ryu’s advances, delivering stiff jabs in response. However, Ryu scored a critical takedown late in the round, landing punches as time wound down.
Both fighters returned to their feet, where Ryu landed the more decisive strikes in the closing seconds. In a close match that could have gone either way, the judges awarded Ryu a unanimous decision, marking Mariano’s first career loss and bringing her MMA record to 3-1.
Despite the defeat, Mariano reported no injuries and was back in the gym the next day. She shared on Facebook, “Because I didn’t acquire any injuries or serious damage after my ONE Championship debut, here we are back at the gym.”
“Feeling ko nag-sparring lang ako sa ONE at nakapag-laba pa ako kahapon (I feel like I just sparred in ONE and was even able to do my laundry yesterday),” she added with humor.
