FOR years, it’s been said that Philippine mixed martial arts goes wherever Cordillera leads it. And why wouldn’t it? This region has been home to the athletes who, with grit and heart, put the Philippines on the global MMA map.
Joshua Pacio, Kevin Belingon, Honorio Banario, Stephen Loman, Geje Eustaquio, and Crisanto Pitpitunge — each of them has donned a major world title and, in their own way, solidified the region’s dominance. And let’s not forget Eduard Folayang, who isn’t just a former world champion but also remains “The Face of Philippine MMA.”
But the accolades don’t stop there. Cordillera’s influence extends to the veterans, ranked contenders, and rising stars. From Edward Kelly to Danny Kingad, from Mark Eddiva to Jhanlo Sangiao — these are just a few of the names shaping the sport’s legacy, all hailing from the highlands.
And yet, despite being nestled at 5,900 feet above sea level, far from the modern resources and accessibility of Metro Manila, Cordillera’s athletes stand as the gold standard for Philippine MMA. They’ve maintained a level of excellence that others struggled to match. But it wasn’t just skill. It was an unrelenting work ethic, forged in simplicity and raw determination. It was a relentless drive to outwork anyone, even with the most limited of resources.
In a country where basketball, boxing, billiards, and volleyball have reigned supreme, MMA earned its seat at the table through the sacrifice and determination of these highlanders. In the sport’s early years, it wasn’t just the absence of resources but the absence of a blueprint that made their rise so exceptional. There were no state-of-the-art gyms, no endless sponsors. What they had was a hunger to succeed — a hunger that turned doubters into believers.
But, as with all things, times change. The rest of the country has caught up. Just like the journey from Manila to Baguio City, which now takes just over four hours with the help of the SCTEX and TPLEX, the rest of the Philippines has bridged the gap.
This was confirmed in 2024 when Lions Nation MMA went 1-2 at the inaugural Zeus Combat League (ZCL) event in May. Aaron Posawen and Denver Songaben both suffered losses —Posawen yielding to Marawi’s Marwin Quirante via submission and Songaben falling to Camarines Norte’s Jayson Miralpez in brutal fashion.
It didn’t end there. At ZCL 2: Supremacy in October, Team Lakay ended the night 0-2, with Joris Jonker losing a hard-fought welterweight title bout to Davao’s Hero Manguray and Estrada Donga-as suffering a brutal knockout at the hands of Negros Occidental’s Kimbert Alintozon.
For long-time fans of Philippine MMA, this was jarring. The Cordillerans, who had once steamrolled through the local competition, seemed vulnerable for the first time. So, what happened? Was it the high-profile exodus that shook Team Lakay to its core in 2023? Or perhaps the limited opportunities for MMA in ONE Championship, where many of our stars reside?
The answer, my friends, is simpler than it appears: times have changed. MMA in the Philippines has evolved. We now have a growing list of Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belts. Industry experts have been coming and going, offering seminars and refining the local scene. Cross-training is no longer seen as taboo. The information that was once elusive is now readily available, right at their fingertips.
MMA has grown, and so have its athletes and stakeholders. Today, it’s not just Cordillerans representing the country on the global stage. Fighters like Denice Zamboanga, Fritz Biagtan, and Eros Baluyout are proving that talent exists beyond the mountains.
Is this the dawn of a paradigm shift? It’s too soon to say. But if we learned anything from 2024, it’s this: expect the unexpected. More fighters from all corners of the country are rising up, and 2025 promises to be the next chapter in Philippine MMA’s evolution — a chapter that the pioneers only dreamed of back when they were clawing for respect and recognition.
At the end of the day, all athletes, regardless of where they come from, dream of one thing: to leave the sport better than they found it.
