EDUARD FOLAYANG - COMING SOON TO THE UFC?

Could edward folayang be the first full blooded home grown mma fighter to fight in the UFC? rumors are rife that the UFC is looking for a filipino fighter to capture the local fans support when (and if) the UFC lands in the Philippines.

Folayang certainly looks qualified as he has a sterling record in both sanshou and MMA.
His last fight barely lasted a minute. His hapless competitior was rumored to be backing out of the fight after hearing of Folayang's ferocious leg shots, folayang did land one massive kick to the leg, one shot thta had norita limping after the fight.
If reports are tru folayand could just be the break-through fighter we need to truly enter the MMA limelight via the UFC

UFC® 92 The Ultimate 2008: Evans, Mir Ultimate Performance

Sugar Rashad Evans caught defending champ Forrest Griffin with a big punch while down on the octagon mat to emerge as the new UFC Light Heavyweight Champion in the main event of UFC 92 The Ultimate 2008.

After splitting the first two rounds, Evans was able to pin down Griffin after catching a leg kick attempt. Grappling in the mound ensued before Evans landed a vicious right that hurt and opened up Griffin. Evans then pummeled him with more rights and lefts that prompted Referee Steve Mazzagatti to stop the fight 2:26 of Round 3.

The match featured the first two winners of The Ultimate Fighter. Evans remained unbeaten in his MMA career.

In the co-main event of UFC 92, Frank Mir delivered a sublime performance to take the Interim Heavyweight belt away from Antonio "Minotauro" Nogueira.

Mir displayed an array of attacks - strikes, uppercut, leg kicks and head kicks. He knocked Nogueira twice in the first round. He was so confident that he even lay-off Nogueira in the mat. He knocked him down again in the second round that proved to be the end for the champ. In the process, Mir inflicted the first ever stoppage loss to Nogueira 1:54 of Round 2.

Mir, who looks up to Nogueira as one of his MMA heroes was emotional after being proclaimed the winner. The win arranged a showdown between Mir and Brock Lesnar next year to determine the undisputed UFC Heavyweight Champ.

Cheick Congo started things off with a vicious pounding of Mostapha Al Turk winning by TKO in 4:37 of the first round.

Next, Rampage Jackson avenged his two previous defeats against Wanderlei Silva by knocking his nemesis cold with a thundering left hook to the jaw 3:21 of Round 1.

CB Dolloway appeared hurt but battled back to repeat over Mike Massenzio whom he beat in Junior College Wrestling championship. He was able to get a full mound over Massenzio and Mike uncharacteristically gave away his back which Dolloway took advantage to pound him to win by TKO 3:04 secs of Round 1.

Other winners include Pat Barry over Dan Evenson by TKO 2:36 of Round 1(Heavyweight), Matt Hamill over Reese Andy by TKO 2:19 of Round 2(Light Heavyweight) and Antoni Hardonk over Matt Wessel 2:09 of Round 2 (Heavyweight).

The Ultimate 2008 was a great year-ending treat to mixed-martial art fans as the main events proved to be good as hyped and all fights never reaching decision.

UFC® 92: "The Ultimate" 2008

After the euphoria of Manny Pacquiao's spectacular annhilation of Oscar De La Hoya, Filipino fighting fans will be treated to another action packed event as UFC 92: The Ultimate will unfold on December 28, 2008 (Manila Time) .

Filipino mixed martial arts fans will surely watch the heavyweight tussle between Antonio Nogueira and Frank Mir where the winner will face Brock Lesnar next year for the heavyweight title. 

And of course, the main event. Forrest Griffin and Rashad Evans will face each other inside the octagon.

I believe Skycable has the broadcasting rights for this event. Tune in to Skycable or ABS-CBN channels for the local coverage of UFC 92.

UFC 91: Lesnar handles Couture

Woke up at 10:30 Sunday morning from a dizzying night at the Cebu International Convention Center where we covered the URCC CEBU Nemesis and found myself glued to the UFC 91 Lesnar - Couture heavyweight matchup.

You'd think I've had enough MMA for a weekend, but this fight was just too compelling to miss. Randy Couture, the evergreen fighter, who at 45 looked just as capable as his younger, much, much, bigger opponent Brock Lesnar

The fight was surprising in the sense that Couture, the ever-cerebral fighter , tied up and befuddled the monster Lesnar- even opening up a cut on Lesnar in one exchange.

I really thought that Couture could fulfill this fantasy - but it was obvious Lesnar's size was just too much.

The punch that took Couture to the ground just barely touched him. It seemed from my angle that it wasn't even the knuckles of Lesnar that grazed him but the middle digits - that was enough to win the night for the ex-wrestler, NFL wannabe.

Brock Lesnar officially won via TKO at 3:07 of Round 2 to win the UFC Heavyweight Championship.

I look forward to UFC 92 wherein the winner between Antonio Nogueira and Frank Mir will face Lesnar to determine the undisputed UFC Heavyweight Champion.

UFC 90: Silva wins as Cote suffers knee injury

On one end, the fighter regarded as the pound for pound king of the sport. On the opposite corner, a replacement fighter that performed beyoned expectation. The result, a technical knockout victory for Anderson Silva and a disappointed live audience.

Patrick Cote was on the verge of a major upset when he landed awkwardly and injured his knee, allowing a seemingly unspired Silva a TKO win. Before that, Cote took the fight to Silva and became the first person to take Silva to the third round. With effort, Cote won some fans over and they chanted his name in appreciation. 

I do hope UFC 91 would end up with a better ending for fans like me.

Filipino UFC fans excited over UFC 91

Filipino UFC fans are eagerly anticipating UFC 91 come November 16, 2008 (Manila Time).

Filipinos are great fans of contact sports like mixed martial arts. After seeing one superstar of the sport in Chuck Liddell last month in the flesh, they are definitely hungry for more.

It also helps that UFC 91 will feature another legend of the sport in Randy "the Natural" Couture. After a year of absense, Couture will return to the Octagon for a heavyweight championship fight against up and coming mma star, Brock Lesnar.

The championship match will take place at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas.

Chuck Liddell & UFC invades Manila

Filipino fans of the Ultimate Fighting Championship ( UFC ) finally got a glimpse of one of the most famous mixed martial artist, Chuck Liddell who visited Manila.

Known as "the Iceman", Chuck Liddell is one of the superstars of the sport. He is well-known for his superb takedown defense and knocking out opponents cold.

He treated his fans to a sparring session at the Mall of Asia and accomodated their request for autographs and photos.

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is a U.S.-based mixed martial arts (MMA) organization, currently recognized as the largest MMA promotion in the world.

Talks are ripe that Manila will host a UFC fight next year.

A CHANCE ENCOUNTER WITH RICO RODRIGUEZ

Thanks to producers Alvin Aguilar, Jed Dario, Bubbles Aguilar, and Franz von Muhlfeld we were able to watch platinum fighting productions "RING OF FIRE" leg here in Manila. Seeing Shamrock, Gracie, Rodriguez and Babalu in person was a real thrill. The fans in Araneta were about 2,000 -3,000 strong , and were all excited to see the fighters and their legendary UFC coaches.

We missed the first two fights, we saw Yuki Kondo in action -he was pretty good. Truth be told we ( and a lot of pinoy fans) went to Araneta to see Rico Rodriguez fight. When Rodriguez appeared on stage for his fight with some big black dude ( who was pretty good too..) the fans chanted Rico's name like he was a pinoy fighter or something...Rico kicked ass. He leg kicked his opponent into submission. The crowd went crazy and when Rico saluted the crowd they went wild.

So after the fight we went back stage for a smoke. This big guy walked up to us and asked for a cigarette. It was Rico Rodriguez. We got to talk about his fight, where he was from ( NY - but he's Puerto Rican) and of course how manila was treating him.

His face broke into a big smile and he said "Man the Hospitality...you don't get this anywhere..." and i never realized i had some fans here! - He went on to ask if this was where Ali and Frazier fought, - Yes this is the place. and he broke out into another big smile and said "man , the history.." did they (araneta) ever renovate? - Nope not an inch. - "man..." Then he went back to his dressing room after he took a final drag from his cigarette.

That was pretty cool. Thank you URCC.

FINAL RESULTS URCC XI REDEMPTION

A typhoon was supposed to make landfall on the eve of the fight, it never came, but inside the venue it was a different story - There was a hurricane. Check out the results...

1.Cary Bullos x Freddie Magada KO .26sec First round

2. Nishimura x Espinosa SUBMISSION First Round

3.Magellan Perez x Tony Donaire ARM BAR .49 sec First round

4.Ryan palinawan x Marciano Basas KO 1:57 First round

5.Jesus Rabadon X Noble Ampoc DQ 6:34 First round

6.Roy Docyogen x Jesi Rafols RSC TKO 5:48 First Round

7.Kevin Belingon x Roldan Cartajena ARMBAR 8:42 First round

8.MJ Banaga x Carl Sebiniano Rear Naked Choke 3:01 First round

9.Earl Uy x Phil Bryner RSC TKO 4:21 First Round

10.Fritz Rodriguez x Seyed Jabbari RSC Doctors stoppage 5:30 First round


SUPERFIGHT

11.Caloy Baduria x Frank Camacho TKO/ RSC 2:27 First round



Nishimura x Espinosa TBA ( to be announced)

come back to this blog as we will be posting photos and videos of the fights!

BAKBAKAN NA!

REDEMPTION

The date -November 25, 2007 7 p.m. sunday, the event -
URCC XI "Redemption" the Drama - two of the toughest
MMA fighters will clash in one esplanade ( near sm
mall of asia) Frank "the crank" Camacho, saipans boy-
beast will lock horns with local mma hero Caloy "bad
boy' Baduria.

Baduria's last outing saw him crush bakbakan
internationals philip yeung in the first round.
Badurias trade mark body-punching has served him well
against smaller opponents, however "the crank" is no
scrawny fighter.

Frank "camacho" has fought bigger fighters than
baduria , mainly fritz rodriguez whom ( camacho)
disposed of in less than a minute in URCC 9.

The match -up between baduria and Camacho has the
potential to be a classic. Brawler versus polsihed
wrestler. Both powerfully built and fearless, Fans
cant wait for these two warriors to don the gloves
against each other.

On the undercard its gracie barra's Fritz Rodriguez
versus Iran's "nightwolf" jabarri - Fritz is still
smarting fom that loss against Camacho and is sure to
go all -out against the iranian to prove he hasnt lost
any of his firepower.

jabarri won his last bout in URCC~ X against gino cruz
via TKO, so "the nighjtwolf" has the momentum for this
match.

another interesting development is the return of "the
beast" Phil Bryner who goes up against another "beast"
Earl 'the beast' Uy who promises to school Bryner and
then "take care" of SEA Games gold medalist Marcus
Valda soon after.

There are eleven matches slated for URCC XI
"Redemption" coincedentally the Universal Reality
Combat Championship is also celebrating their fifth
year anniversary this November.

below are the match-ups for URCC~ XI "redemption"

URCC XI is presensted by san mig strong ice, with the
participation of :

for tickets call: 867-80-59
also available at all yoshinoya and chris sports branches


Bullos Vs. Magada
130-139 lbs

Perez vs. De Guzman
130-139 lbs

Sebaniano vs. Banaga
150-159 lbs
Welterwight Title

Docyogen vs. Rabadon
110-119 lbs
Pinweight Title

Uy Vs. Bryner
201 - up lbs.

Rodriguez vs. Jabari
180-189 lb

Espinosa vs. Fernandez
120-129 lbs

Baduria vs. Camacho
180-189
Light Heavyweight Title

Belingon vs. Cartajena

Nishimura vs. Oya

visit www.urccmma.com for more info

Bakbakan na!

Camacho X Baduria

The Fight is on! Frank 'the crank" Camacho Saipan's Trenchtech warrior and victor over Fritz Rodriguez of Gracie Barra will be back in town this November 25, 2007 at the esplanade ( sm mall of asia) Camacho is remembered by fight fans for his quick disposal of then unbeaten light-heavy champ Fritz Rodriguez.

Camacho will once again grace local mma's shores with his explosive presence. This time he's taking on the "bad boy" Caloy Baduria of Elorde MMA. Caloy's last outing saw him body-punch Bakabakan intl's Philip Yeung. Many feel that this is an interesting match-up. Frank Camacho is a lot thicker and bigger than Yeung although Baduria's build has always been on the heavy side, it remains to be seen if Caloy can get away with what he does in the ring against strikers with a wrestler like Camacho.Frank is big and fast, although we have'nt really seen him tested against rough and tumble brawlers like Baduria.

Baduria likes to exchange blows, he can take as good as he gives. Camacho is an accomplished wrestler, and although we saw him beat fritz into a ref stoppage, we dont know if Baduria will let himself be caught in the same position.

We cant wait to see "the crank" back in action!

The URCC is heating up the "ber months....watch out for other developments! see you fans in November..

Magellan "bimbi" Perez - Promising MMA Star?

For those of you who watched Magellan" bimbi" Perez methodical destruction of Deo "bolo" Anacio of strikes and submissions during URCC X at the fort, you would've noticed that the man has a swagger and confidence that exceeds his lanky frame.

For the uninititaed "bimbi" is an accomplished boxer at the elorde stable. He also trains Navy Seals in hand to hand combat. Bimbi stands around 5'9 and his fighting weight is at about 139-145 lbs. Seeing bimbi go up against the squat, powerfully built Anacio in URCC X you would've thought that bimbi was 20 lbs. heavier - he threw anacio around like a rag doll, almost like a dog with a rat in his mouth.

Bimbi eventually made short work of Anacio in the first round. He had perfect balance and timing in stand-up mode. He proved deadly flat on the mat too.

Last month we had the pleasure of seeing Bimbi go up against one of URCC's KO artists and way of the champions veteran Charlie Angel, The match held in cebu was the marquee match-up of the night. Bimbi squared of with Angel at around 11:00 p.m. in the jam packed arena.

Bimbi lead with a left jab that set-up his right. This was all he did the whole fight. that is all he had to do. Charlie Angel's face was a mess after the bout. In fact the delivery of the one-two punch by "bimbi" was almost montonous. Angel was being fed a steady diet of this basic combination by perez and he ( perez) was handily on his way to a route when Angel, delivered a roundhouse to Perez's groin.

It was a total let-down as this match was shaping up to be a real classic. Ref Anthony Penalosa had to call it quits and gave Bimbi the nod.

Despite the let-down it was still an eye-opener for those who watched the match, Bimbi had the class and cool plus all the tools to demolish angel. Many observers believe Magellan "bimbi" perez will go a very long way with his polished boxing skills in the URCC.

URCC X - MIXED MARTIAL ARTS MANILA- THE CHANGING OF THE GUARD

It was Drini aguilar the host of URCC X who pointed out the painfully obvious- That the lakay wushu "boys" had legs that looked like they were made of narra. Their upper bodies also looked like they were carved out of some species of hard wood. The guy beside us mentioned that if they were carrying a slain deer on their shoulders they would look exactly like those wooden Igorot statues sold in baguio or in Tesoros.

Imposing physique aside - this was not the only unsettling feature of these "new" fighters in the URCC. They also looked superbly conditioned and supremely confident. Its the kind of air that a weathered veteran athlete brings to a high-school varsity try out.

Kevin Blingon and Eduard Folayang - two of our best sanshou-wushu international competitors representing the Lakay-wushu team, steam- rolled the competition with thier grit, endurance and power. Not to mention experience. These guys train year round and have several major competitions a year.

In stark contrast, Richard Lasprilla and Allan Co have both since taken on the 9-5 world and by comparison have put in just a modest amount of training leading up to their respective fights.

The result was moot and academic. Richard lasprilla,URCC flyweight champion , lost via UD to Kevin Belingon. Bloodied and bruised, lasprilla took a beating in all the rounds, although he gave almost as good as he got, it was clear that lasprilla had not faced this caliber of competition in the URCC.

Allan Co, the man who easily defeated Caloy Baduria for the Belt ( and made caloy look like an astronaut launching him into orbit several times in the bout) was handily beaten by what looked to observers as a mountain of muscle crashing down on Allan - it gave new meaning to the term "landslide victory" - thats what they should call Eduard Folayang - "the Landslide" - a force of nature to be truly reckoned with.

Both champs, (former champs) have nothing to be ashamed of. Allan and Richard fought tremendously to the last tooth, nail and claw. Lasprilla never giving up ground, Co valiantly struggling to keep from being buried alive by blows from Folayang- the match mercifully stopped by referee Lepiten in the first round.

Mixed martial arts in the Philippines has never looked so promising after the spectacular showing of the lakay wushu team. Gone are the days of semi-pro 9-5 weekend warriors. The Benguet brawlers sent a message to all URCC and local MMA aspirants- if you want to be competitive in this arena you have to take your training up several notches - just to keep from being murdered.

The tour de force of Lakay Wushu in URCC X has fast-tracked events in local MMA. Their performance that night ushered in the proverbial changing of the guard.

Visit the urcc website http://www.urccmma.com