Stephen “The Sniper” Loman is leaving his legendary BRAVE CF bantamweight throne in order to join most of his brothers at ONE Championship.
This was confirmed by Team Lakay Head Coach Mark Sangiao late Tuesday night, stating his ward, now former Brave Combat Federation Bantamweight Champion, has joined the rest of his teammates at ONE Championship.
“Stephen Loman is one of the best fighters in the Philippines. His all-around skills will be on full display in ONE Championship,” said Sangiao.
Loman is the longest reigning champion in BRAVE, but decided to test the MMA free agency waters earlier this year to seek a new platform, even writing a gratitude filled farewell that signaled his bidding the Middle East-based promotion goodbye.
“I spoke to Stephen and he’s highly motivated right now. He can’t wait to get in the Circle and put on a show. Of course, I’ll be there for him, as well as all of his teammates at Team Lakay, every step of the way.” continued Sangiao.
Loman captured the BRAVE title with a victory over Canadian-Indian Gurdarshan “St. Lion” Mangat in 2017.
He followed this up with successful title defenses against Frans Mlambo on June 9, 2018, Felipe Efrain on November 16, 2018; Elias Boudegzdame on March 15, 2019 in a fight held at the Mall of Asia Arena, and Louie Sanoudakis on November 23, 2019.
His successful title defenses on multiple occasions and headlining various events made him arguably BRAVE’s biggest star.
He departs BRAVE with a 13-2 career fight record and the promotion’s only titleholder who defended his championship multiple times.
He is undefeated in six bouts with the promotion since 2016 and his reign has been active for 1,177 days as of February 5, 2021.
By comparison, Dominick “The Dominator” Cruz of United States is the current holder of the longest single reign in the bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) at 1,117 days.
Bibiano Fernandes of Brazil is the holder of the single reign in the bantamweight division of ONE Championship at 1,848 days before Kevin “The Silencer” Belingon halted his first reign.
He now takes his act to ONE where the likes of former World Champions Eduard Folayang, Geje Eustaquio, Belingon, Honorio Banario, and reigning ONE Strawweight World Champion Joshua “The Passion” Pacio led the charge of Team Lakay commanding presence.
He joins Pacio as the only Team Lakay mainstays who closed out 2020 with a belt.
“It’s an overwhelming opportunity, but I’m excited to join my Team Lakay brothers in the biggest martial arts organization in the world,” said Loman.
“I’m excited to enhance my skills on this platform and showcase my style to millions of viewers across the globe. Of course, fighting in a new promotion and a new environment will be a challenge, but it’s one I’m more than willing to face. I’m ready to show ONE Championship fans the best of Stephen Loman.”
It has not been confirmed what weight class Loman is set to compete in. Details of Loman’s ONE Championship debut have also yet to be announced, but he is expected to see action later this year.
By Armando M. Bolislis
