There’s no questioning the pedigree Jeremy “The Jaguar” Miado holds, with the Filipino repeatedly asserting his claim as one of the most intriguing strawweights in ONE Championship.
But as lethal as his MMA game is, plaguing Miado’s ascent to the top has been his inconsistencies, with him yet to string back-to-back wins in ONE Championship since joining the promotion in 2017.
Part of that could be attributed to his direction, with Miado admittedly not having a mentor to look up to as he and his wife spearheaded Switch MMA, their family gym. Unfortunately, the difficulties brought on by the pandemic forced the Miados to close shop and left him lost.
“We were forced to close the gym. It was only me, my wife, and my brother who operated there and I was even the one who’s looked at as the coach there,” he shared.
Yet when one door closes, another one opens, and it led “The Jaguar” to join Marrok Force MMA in Bangkok where he hopes to finally make the leap and put himself in contention for the ONE Strawweight World Championship.
From the onset, it was a match made in heaven for Miado as he gets a chance to further hone his talents, adding to his dangerous striking skills with a refined ground game thanks to trainers there in Thailand.
And he’s just overjoyed, noting the improvements he’s made in his brief stay there thus far.
“I know the things I need to improve on, and I’m happy to see my development there with my ground game when it comes to wrestling and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu,” he said.
“I feel like I really made a good decision in joining Marrok Force and I’m thankful that they gave me and my wife the opportunity to join their gym.”
It also exposed Miado to higher quality training partners as he works daily with siblings Denice and Drex Zamboanga, who he noted have helped tremendously in his time there.
“The Zamboangas are really helpful for my growth as a fighter. They’re not hesitating in sharing their knowledge about martial arts to me and I can also say that we push each other up,” said the Albay native.
It’s an unexpected change of scenery, but could also possibly be the shift Miado has long needed as he aims for a repeat in his rematch against Miao Li Tao at ONE: NEXTGEN on Oct. 29 in Singapore.
Miado knocked his Chinese foe out in the first round of their clash at ONE: AGE OF DRAGONS in November 2019, and this do-over could silence the talks of his last win being a fluke.
For Miado, though, it’s all about showing this brand new version of himself — one who’s hungry and is raring to be taken seriously in the strawweight division.
“I can say that I’ve really improved on my skills and on my weaknesses. I’ve been training as hard as I could and I’m excited to be back in action against Miao,” he said.
