Filipino Fighter Rene Catalan Aims to Establish First Winning Streak in ONE Championship

 

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Winning has been closely associated with Filipino fighter Rene Catalan (1-2) in international Wushu tournaments as he has brought home numerous gold medals for the Philippines.

However, having his hand raised as the winner in mixed martial arts (MMA) has been elusive since he transitioned to the world’s fastest-growing sport in 2013.

Like capturing the gold medal at the 2006 Asian Games in Doha, one unforgettable moment in his illustrious fighting career was when Catalan finally claimed his first victory as an MMA competitor last September.

With an incredible work rate and accurate striking, Catalan dominated Chinese combatant Zhang You Liang to win the three-round strawweight encounter via unanimous decision at ONE: UNBREAKABLE WARRIORS.

After his remarkable conquest of Zhang in September, Catalan moves onto his next assignment as he faces ONE Strawweight Indonesian Tournament Champion Adrian Matheis (3-1) at ONE: QUEST FOR POWER in Jakarta, Indonesia on 14 January.

The 38-year-old Filipino Wushu veteran sees his marquee match-up against Matheis as an opportunity to extend his success inside the ONE Championship cage.

“This is my chance to establish my first winning streak in ONE Championship. It’s not impossible. That’s why I am exerting a tremendous amount of effort in training. I want to keep on winning,” Catalan said.

According to Catalan, he is inspired to win against his Indonesian foe because this gives him another opportunity to give honor to the Philippines.

“I am inspired to win the fight because I am representing the Philippines. It is always an honor to fight for my country. My goal in this fight is to win and bring pride to my nation,” he stated.

Although both men possess superb striking pedigrees, Catalan believes that he still has the upper hand in the stand-up department.

“I still believe that my striking is better than his stand-up game. I am very comfortable in that aspect. If he wants to strike with me, it will be my pleasure,” he pointed out.

With the aim to be a more versatile fighter than his cage counterpart, Catalan revealed that he worked extensively on his ground game in training camp.

“For this fight, I added more emphasis to my ground game. Even though I am coming off a win, I shouldn’t be complacent. I trained with the best Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioners in the country to hone my grappling skills,” he bared.

Catalan hopes that if he secures a decisive win over Matheis, it will grant him a date with Yoshitaka Naito for the ONE Strawweight World Championship belt.

“Every fighter dreams to become a world champion. I really hope that ONE Championship will give me an opportunity to fight for the title in the future. This fight might be the door to a world title fight. Let us all hope for the best,” he said.

For more updates on ONE Championship, please visit www.onefc.com, follow us on Twitter and Instagram @ONEChampionship, and like us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ONEChampionship.

Latest from DOTr: Nose in, Nose out Policy

Wazzup Pilipinas!

In anticipation of heavy traffic this Christmas, the Inter-Agency Council on Traffic strictly implemented the Nose in, Nose Out Policy on EDSA starting December 15.

Below are the pertinent info on the policy and implementation.

STRICT IMPLEMENTATION OF NOSE IN, NOSE OUT POLICY FOR PROVINCIAL BUSES

• Enforced on December 15, Thursday to ease traffic in EDSA

• Nose in, nose out is a long existing regulation reiterated thru MMDA Resolution 16-06, series of 2016, covering the whole of EDSA

• Nose in, nose out means buses should enter or exit their terminals front end first, instead of backing up or maneuvering on EDSA and causing bottlenecks. Buses may only maneuver within the terminal. The rationale is that buses take longer when they enter or exit terminal using the rear, thus obstructing traffic flow.

• In line with the nose in, nose out policy, the Resolution also prohibits provincial buses from plying EDSA Timog Ave. up to EDSA P. Tuazon southbound from 6am-10am. This is being implemented initially in Cubao area only because it was identified as a major choke point. 

• Consistent with the goal to not cause traffic in EDSA, the policy also prohibits private and public vehicles from loading and unloading in front of the bus terminals 

• Violators will be issued a Uniform Ordinance Violation Receipt for obstruction and disregarding traffic sign with corresponding penalty or fine

• GM Tim Orbos' suggestion to bus companies: 

(1)     Improve ticket-selling system

(2)     Designate loading/unloading area within the terminal or along a street outside EDSA

(3)     Hire more porters and conductors 

• Initial assessment on traffic impact will be done after a week

NEC Technology Knows Where You Are Looking

Wazzup Pilipinas!

It's Real-time detection of a person’s line-of-sight!

NEC Corporation today announced the development of a “remote gaze detection technology” that enables real-time detection of the direction an individual is looking, even when using existing cameras from remote locations.

Conventional technologies estimate an individual’s line-of-sight using specialized devices equipped with infrared lights and advanced cameras that detect light as it is reflected from an individual’s eye.

This new technology, developed as part of NEC’s cutting-edge portfolio of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, NEC the WISE (*1), uses face feature point detection technology, the core of NEC's world leading face recognition technology (*2), to accurately identify characteristics in and around the eye, such as the pupil and the corners of the eye, from images taken with common cameras, including web, surveillance, tablet and smartphone cameras, without the need for specialized equipment. These images and technology enable highly accurate detection of an individual’s line-of-sight, with a measurement error of less than 5 degrees from the left, right, top and bottom.

Moreover, this remote gaze detection technology’s advanced response to low resolution images and changes in brightness enable it to detect an individual’s line-of-sight, even when they are separated from the camera by 10 meters, making it well suited for automatically detecting products that draw the attention of shoppers at retail stores.