EIGHT-DIVISION world champion Manny Pacquiao look-alike Mario Sismundo looked every bit like a champion when he scored a spectacular knockout in the first round of a lightweight battle with John Rey Larena in the UGB-MMA presentation of “Foreign Invasion” at the beautiful Circuit venue of Ayala Land in Sta. Ana last Friday.
A large crowd of MMA enthusiasts gave Sismundo a rousing round of applause as he entered the ring, grinning broadly much like Pacquiao.
The moment the bell sounded, Sismundo got to work and nailed Larena with a vicious left hook, which is Pacquiao’s lethal weapon and knocked out his foe at 19 seconds of the opening round.
The Pacquiao look-alike was one of nine fights on the UGB-MMA card put up by founder and CEO Ferdie Munsayac, whose initial partnership with Viva Sports was a genuine success.
Viva Sports will telecast the fights on Saturday at 8:30 p.m. over Pinoy Box Office on Sky Cable with a replay at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday
However, the foreign invaders won all three inaugural titles at stake, with American Brad Robinson winning the middleweight title by beating Mark Palomar in the third round.
Pakistani fighters Uloomi Karim and Ahmed Mujtaba proved too good for their Filipino rivals with impressive victories over bantamweight Michael Mondragon and featherweight Rodian Menchaves, respectively.