Boxing legend Manny Pacquiao will step into a new kind of arena as he captains Team Philippines in Netflix’s Physical: Asia, the franchise’s first nation-versus-nation showdown.
Pacquiao will guide a powerhouse squad of six Filipino athletes: Fil-Am sambo fighter Mark Mugen, strongman Ray Jefferson Querubin, national rugby player Justin Coveney, hurdler Robyn Lauren Brown, and CrossFit competitor Lara Liwanag. Together, they will represent the Philippines against some of the best athletes from seven other countries — Korea, Japan, Thailand, Mongolia, Türkiye, Indonesia, and Australia.
Each national team is fronted by a sports icon, with Pacquiao’s legendary eight-division boxing career serving as the rallying point for the Filipino side. Other captains include UFC pioneer Dong-hyun “Stun Gun” Kim for Korea, ex-UFC middleweight champion Robert “The Reaper” Whittaker for Australia, MMA veteran Yushin Okami for Japan, Muay Thai great Superbon for Thailand, wrestling star Orkhonbayar Bayarsaikhan for Mongolia, four-time oil wrestling champion Recep Kara for Türkiye, and Indonesia’s physique athlete Igedz “Executioner.”
The competition will bring together 48 athletes in contests that fuse raw strength, skill, and cultural traditions — from combat sports and track events to heritage competitions such as Korean ssireum, Mongolian wrestling, Turkish oil wrestling, and Muay Thai.
Producer Jang Ho-gi emphasized the emotional intensity of this edition, saying, “At its heart, the ‘Physical’ series is about raw competition that transcends disciplines and generations. By bringing national pride into the equation, the battles will be more intense, more emotional, and more unforgettable than ever.”
Physical: Asia is set to premiere this October, streaming worldwide on Netflix.
