Jenel “The Demolition Man” Lausa, 32, of Concepcion, Iloilo, Philippines  has made an important career move to hang up his pair of eight-ounce boxing gloves in favor of a total commitment to the sport of mixed martial arts. While it was a tough decision to call, he believes that focusing entirely on MMA will benefit him in the long run, especially that he signed a multi-bout deal with BRAVE Combat Federation in February 2021.

“I equally love boxing and MMA,” Lausa shared. “It’s tough, to be honest, but I know this decision will be beneficial career-wise. It’s a matter of determining the real priority and my priority right now is MMA and to perform to the best of my ability as part of BRAVE CF.”

“I have to think long-term,” Lausa continued. “Here in MMA, I can have a regular fix of fights. Boxing events in the Philippines have been hampered by the pandemic.”

“I feel so blessed that BRAVE CF opened the door to welcome me back to MMA and resume my career,” the Iloilo native added. “That alone is already an indication that I have to prioritize MMA.”

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Lausa made his professional MMA debut in 2011 and began his boxing stint in 2014. He has gone undefeated as a boxer, winning 6 of his 10 bouts by knockout as well as capturing local and regional titles in two different weight classes.

As Lausa started to move up the ranks, he had his sights fixed on the rare feat of becoming the first Filipino to ever win a world championship in both MMA and boxing. He seemed to be unperturbed by the fact that competing in two totally different disciplines could shoulder a heavy burden.

When Lausa made his BRAVE CF debut at “BRAVE CF 47: Asian Domination” at the Arad Fort in Arad, Bahrain, he lost via unanimous decision to Ryskulbek Ibraimov, 28, of Kyrgyzstan. The loss compelled the Filipino MMA fighter to revisit and weigh in on his aspirations.

“My list of goals at the moment consists of what I want to achieve through BRAVE CF, not as a boxer,” Lausa said. “Not winning my debut is hard to swallow but it came with a realization that I have to reorganize my goals and priorities.”