‘Small girls can hit, too’
As someone who’s been competing in the unrelenting grind of Muay Thai’s amateur circuit since she was in her teens, Islay Erika Bomogao has become used to adversity.
But on the night of her professional debut with an international organization last Nov. 8, at One Friday Fights 86, held at the famed Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, two surprises awaited her, revelations that sent her adjusting on the fly, inside the ring itself.
“My opponent’s size!” said the 24-year-old, who stands at an even 5 ft tall.
Though she and her team had already extensively studied Fuu, the Japanese striker Bomogao would be facing beforehand, it’s often the case that many items on tape or on paper only make sense once you are actually trading blows.
“Most of the adjustment I did for Fuu was about fighting a shorter opponent!” exclaimed Bomogao about the much younger Japanese fighter, already a seasoned pro at just 20 years old, but who is a shorter 4’ 11”.
Bomogao continued, “See, I’ve been used to fighting taller competition for years. I would usually be the person with lots of footwork, trying to get to angles and blind spots. I had a realization during the fight that I shouldn’t be moving so much when I was now the taller person. Move around a little less. Utilize my height advantage.”
The second surprise was exactly how tough and athletic Fuu was. “I knew na beterano na siya sa pro, but when I was actually throwing strikes at her, I was shocked to feel literally how sturdy she was, how strong her body was. I know my left hook and my straight are strong, but she absorbed them and took them all in stride. She barely flinched!”
Championship caliber
Though filled with admiration for her opponent, Bomogao’s championship caliber game, honed from years in the amateur circuit, paid off. Utilizing her footwork, diverse arsenal of kicks, and clinch work, she rode to a unanimous decision win.
It’s something she’s still pretty much in shock about, even as she spoke to Lifestyle back in her Benguet hometown. Earlier this year, the Baguio City native made her—professional debut at an Australian regional promotion, Domination 30, in Perth. That was last Aug. 10 where, despite jitters at transitioning to pro, she bagged a decision win against the Aussie Sarah Kwa.
Overcoming Fuu at a premier international promotion like One Championship is a definite step up for the sunny and upbeat Bomogao. With her charming disposition plus dazzling footwork combined with high fight IQ, combat sports analysts are already predicting a bright future for the superstar in the making.
Bomogao started training in the “art of eight limbs” when she was just 16, under the athletic program of Benguet State University, where she eventually made the national team. As she competed with the flag on her shoulder, she eventually amassed an amateur record of 27-6 and was crowned the International Federation of Muay Thai Associations’ (IFMA) world no. 1 at 45-kg female, and the 2018 gold at the elite world championship of IFMA’s amateur world games.
She’s also been feted with gold in the artistic forms, in Wai Khru Ram Muay (the dance ritual performed before fighting), and in Mae Mai (the choreographed display of techniques and movements, often done with a partner, that showcases the style’s flair and creativity).
Pro’s aura
Still, the pro circuit is a far cry from the grind of the amateurs.
Even in the 100 pounds female catchweight bout like Bomogao versus Fuu, the professional Muay Thai game in One Championship is incredibly different from a run-of-the-mill Muay Thai bout. There’s a hydration test for making competition weight and the modified rules that use 4-oz fingerless gloves—commonly only seen in mixed martial arts, as opposed to the usual 6 oz to 10 oz that covers the whole fist.
“For this camp, we had an emphasis on fight endurance, ambidextrous power in both feet and both hands, and explosive movements given our weight class,” confessed Edzel Ngina, one of Bomogao’s coaches under the Philippine competition unit Team Bagsik.
“Before flying out to Thailand, we were meticulous in monitoring Islay’s weight and were within 0.5 kilos of our target. And with the smaller gloves, extra preparation was given to professional style sparring.”
“That was also a surprise of mine in the professionals,” added Bomogao. “The caliber of the opponent is way up there. Grabe pala talaga! A pro’s aura is just different since it’s just one fight for a few months, whereas in the amateurs you need to fight two to five times within a few days to get a gold. So you prepare for a wide range of possible styles. That was a big adjustment for me and, honestly, I think I still need to work on it.”
Right now, though, the young fighter is back in Baguio and plans to enjoy two things: time with her family, since she didn’t get to spend her birthday with them (Bomogao turned 24 on the day of her One Championship fight), and indulging her love for sweets.
“Now that my fight is over, I can recover and spend my post-birthday celebration with my family and eat and eat! Oh, I just love sweets!” she confessed.
Bomogao has already taken her sweet tooth to baking her favorite pastries, especially cookies and brownies.
“I am trying to do bread right now and get to baking sourdough right. But it’s been hard,” she said. “I tried sourdough once and it was a fail.”
As things play out in her new promotion, she does eventually want to fight for a belt if the division shakes out to become a regular.
“Small girls can hit, too!” she exclaimed, citing her fight versus Fuu as a great case for making the 100 lbs female division a staple.
Watching her fight in a pro ring, it’s hard to argue with that.
