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Thursday, March 28, 2024

A busy fight week

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WHAT a busy week it has been for fight sports.

The most shocking news of all was the 13-second annihilation of Connor McGregor of Brazilian Jose Aldo to crown himself the new UFC featherweight champion.

All it took for the trash-talking Irish was a sleek, counter-left hook that hit the jaw of the former champion, who fell to the canvas out cold as McGregor celebrated in the ring.

McGregor credited the one-punch “KO” to perfect timing. 

“No power, just precision. No speed, only timing.  That’s all it takes. Nobody can take that away from my left hand,” said McGregor after the bout.

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Oh, Mcgregor’s trash-talks may have also played a big factor psychologically. The Irishman got into the head of the 10-year undefeated fighter, who, in a hurry to punish the challenger, got careless and boom! Lights out.

Prior to the main event, Luke Rockhold rocked the MMA world as he pounded Chris Weidmann to become the new UFC middleweight champion.

Rockhold’s vicious ground and pound proved too much for Weidmann and referee Herb Dean stepped in to stop the carnage in the fourth round of their five-round bout.

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In the Asian scene, Filipino-Italian Brandon Vera completed his MMA comeback when he put a lock on the inaugural heavyweight championship of the ONE Championship with a one-round knockout of Paul Cheng on Friday night at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Vera, a former top contender in the UFC, will always cherish this victory, crafted in front of his beloved countrymen. 

“Mahal ko kayo! Mahal ko ang Pilipinas,” Vera, who traces his roots in Quezon province, would always say to the Filipino crowd whenever he’s here for an MMA gathering.

Another Filipino, Eugene Toquero, made the day for the huge Friday crowd at the Mall of Asia Arena as he stopped previously unbeaten Li Wei Bin of China in an intense stand-up fight. Toquero, a muay thai practitioner, used his unorthodox fighting style to punish Li in the first two rounds. The Chinese fighter failed to answer the call for Round 3.

It was sad day for two other Filipino fighters, however, as Mark Striegl suffered a submission loss to Australian Reese McLaren via rear-naked choke in the third round, while former women’s boxing world champion Ana “Hurricane” Julaton bowed to Russian Irina Mazepa, who earned the nod of the judges by unanimous decision.

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In San Juan, Puerto Rico, Nonito Donaire once again made Filipinos proud as he engaged a younger and gritty foe in Cezar Juarez and prevailed in their 12-round brawl to win by decision and claim the vacant WBO super bantamweight title on Saturday.

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In the local fight scene, boxing promoters like Elmer Anuran of Saved by the Bell Promotions and Master Emmanuel Sabrine, president of the National Muay Thai and Kickboxing Council of the Philippines, continue to keep fight talents coming.

Anuran, who has reactivated his love for boxing, held a 10-bout boxing card in Guiguinto, Bulacan, bannered by his ward Roberto Gonzales, who taught RJ Anoos of Cebu a neat lesson in the ring to win by unanimous decision in their 10-round superlightweight bout. Gonzales is one of the fast-rising pugilists being developed by Anuran for international fight.

Sabrine, meanwhile, has partnered with Angeles City-based Korean businessman Kwang Rae Jo in getting the Southeast Asian Fighting Champion off the ground.

Fifteen fights were on tap in the eliminations of this ladder-type of competition aiming to discover elite fighters, who will someday see action in top regional MMA organizations, like ONE Championship and Pacific Extreme Combat.

“We are very thankful for the support of Mr. Kwang for helping the Filipino enhance their talents. Soon, fighters from all over country will come down here in Angeles City to show their skills,” said Sabrine.

The SAFC octagon is now set up beautifully at Mr. Kwang’s classy Venus Hotel and Sports Club that will host exciting MMA events every weekend. No wonder, the Metro-based Sabrine is planning to relocate to Pampanga for good to make his brainchild a long-term commitment.

Supporting the SAFC are some of the best MMA clubs in the country such as Hybrid YawYan, YawYan Kampilan, Baguio-based Kafagway MMA, Tough Guys International, D Elements MMA, De Tomas Fabricio MMA, Fist Gym, New Blood, Lucero Fight Gym, USA Sikaran, JMC MMA, Hyper MMA, New Blood MMA, Team Spar and Ramos Fighting System.

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COMBO PUNCH. Tune in to Fightnews Hour every Wednesday from 7:30 to 9  p.m. over DZSR Sport Radio for more news and analysis about combat sports. Like our Fightnews Asia Facebook page to keep track of the activities to be sponsored by this corner, Locker Room, and Fightnews Hour, and win exciting prizes like MMA shirts, globes and other fight sport merchandise

 

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