It’s taken a few bouts to find his feet, but Rene “The Challenger” Catalan is ready to live up to his moniker.

The Filipino is riding a three-bout win streak as he heads into ONE: KINGS OF COURAGE, and he’s looking to continue that good form when he faces off against China’s Peng Xue Wen.

The two-time wushu world champion has designs on becoming a two-sport world champion, but first he has to build a compelling case for inclusion in a title bout, starting with a fourth straight win on 20 January.

“My goal is to compete for the ONE Strawweight World Championship,” the 39-year-old said.

“I know before I get to that stage, I still have a lot of work ahead of me.”

As well as sharpening his own skills, Catalan also invests in the skills of others, and heads up his own Manila-based gym, Catalan Fighting Systems (CFS).

His gym boasts additional ONE Championship experience, including undefeated women’s strawweight prospect Jomary Torres and his younger brother Robin Catalan. His gym looks to teach a host of martial arts disciplines, including wushu, sambo and Muay Thai, while also serving as the main base for the trio’s big bout preparations.

“I told them (my brothers) we should establish our own team, where we would be the ones who will manage, and not be managed by others,” Catalan said.

“When I established this gym, my goal was to elevate our family name, not just myself.”

The team started out sharing a facility with another group, ut in 2015 they moved to their own space and saw their prosperity take off as a result.

The gym has been running for five years, but is still relatively new. It means Catalan has to keep a hand on virtually all aspects of the gym, from overseeing the daily programs, to managing the athletes’ careers and looking after the finances of the business.

“For the past three years, I am the one who looked for sponsors, found food for our in-house athletes, paid for utilities and gym rent – I shoulder responsibility for everything,” he explained, saying how proud he was to have his name above the door, and why that means he has to stay fully involved in everything that goes on within the gym.

“People do not come to our gym because of the state-of-the-art equipment, but rather because of the skills they can learn from the world-renowned Catalans,” he said.

“I cannot just entrust them to my junior instructors, because this is what our gym offers that they cannot find anywhere else.”

It all means Catalan’s life is an incredibly busy one, but he still manages to find time to carry out a training camp ahead of his matches.

“I do not want to lose, so I find ways to prepare myself for matches,” he said.

His next outing pitches him against China’s Peng, a National Youth Greco Champion who made his debut for ONE last November at ONE: LEGENDS OF THE WORLD and defeated Cambodia’s Phat Soda with a stunning suplex KO.

Catalan is wary of his opposite number’s explosive wrestling, and says he’s ready to deal with Peng’s skills.

“I have a certain game plan, but I am prepared to defend against his wrestling,” said the wushu star.

“I am preparing a solid defence against him, but of course I am mixing in some offense as well. I am not sure if he will expect that I will add a twist to my game, but 80 percent of my preparation is in strength and conditioning.

“For this match, I think the strategy will flow once I am in the cage. I will just do my best to get the win, but also provide an exciting bout for the audience to enjoy.”