URCC 21 Warpath The Reports pt 2

URCC 21 Warpath The Reports pt 2

Published on May 1, 2012 by The Editor in URCC

So here it is Part 2 of the URCC 21 Warpath Report

Bout 4.

Mario Sismundo Vs Miquel Alo

Round 1:

Sismundo bore an uncanny resemblance to Manny Pacquiao which led a very excited crowd to chant Manny, Manny, Manny at every opportunity and it was so funny as my Sister in Law who is a big Pacquiao fan came to life. She had been mostly hiding her face behind her hands for the previous fights but this brought her out of her shell with a vengeance as she joined in with the chants and really came alive.

Sadly of course looking like Pacquaio is not enough in MMA and very early in the fight Alo a late replacement had opened up a cut on his head.

Although a tough fight, Alo was getting the better of things on the ground and he attempted three different times to complete an armbar and every time Sismundo managed to escape it much to the delight of the crowd as the chants increased.

Round 2 ~  began once again with Alo on top during the ground portion of the fights but Sismundo was doing a very good job of keeping Alo at bay and Alo’s ground and pound was losing it’s Zing.

Sismundo turned the tables and had Alo is a very solid rear naked choke but Alo has some real ability and soon retained top position and eventually at the fourth attempt he got his armbar at 9:34 of round 2. Another excellent fight that was stopped just before the end of the round.

The crowd is buzzing another cold Colt 45 is ordered and we all settle down for the next fight.

The organisation here is very slick and the vendors are in evidence throughout the event which makes getting refreshments nice and easy.

Bout 5

Jonathan Sumogat Vs MJ Abrillo

In this fight we had our first one round finish as Sumogat cruised to a comfortable 3-0 record.At no time did he look to be in any danger and he eventually finished Abrillo with a rear naked choke at 6:30.

Bout 6.

Mark Stiegl Vs Alcer Lozada

Time for a Team Buffet Double Bill ~ Striegl entered this fight on a 9 -0 record and he showed his greater experience to great effect as he swarmed all over  Lozada finishing him at 2:39 of the first round with a rear naked choke. Striegl really looks like a fighter with great potential, potentially right now he could be up for a title shot with the URCC and at least two other organisations. he’s a man on the move.

Winner by rear naked choke at 3:33 of Round 1 Mark "Mugen" Striegl

Everybody  would have been very impressed to see Will “The Kill” Chope walk to the ring with his team-mate! Yes, Mark “Mugen” Striegl who has just won his fight is back to support his friend and team-mate. Impressive stuff.

Bout 7.

Will Chope Vs Angelito Manguray

This is  a real battle of opposites Chope is just 21 whilst Manguray is in his 40′s with figures ranging from 42 to 48 being banded about. The official age for this event was 45 and then you had Chope who at 6’4″ towers above Manguray.

Chope is wanting a shot at the URCC title and knows that winning this fight and winning it well is needed.

Chope like Striegl is a member of Team Buffet the Philippines smallest fight team. Yet Chope like his team-mate came to do a job and he did it with devastating effect. Chope did not let Manguray settle and drove forward from the word go and did not let up, Manguray did lay a couple of good shots on Chope, but Chope was landing punches, kicks, knees all with force and Manguray must have wondered what was going on, it was like he had been picked up in a hurricane and at just 2:59 of round one Chope got the rear naked choke that assured him his tenth victory. 

Immediately Chope was walking around the ring and making the sign  of a belt, the message was very clear but if it wasn’t Chope was going to make it easy, he grabbed the mic and called out URCC champion Ricardo Sapno. The message then could not be ignored.

Bout 8.

Jenson Estoro Vs Roysaldo Transmonte

This fight was a superb affair with both fighters putting everything into it. Estoro played a waiting game as he had such a good counter punching (and kicking) style that every time Transmonte came in he made him pay.

But like so many on this night this fight flowed backwards and forwards really building up the excitement level.

This fight went all the way and as it was still a draw on the judges cards this had to go to the third round. One thing I really hate in so many of the Japanese organisations is the amount of draws there are, this is the right way to do things.  It’s all or nothing, Win or Lose. And this went to round three. This is where Estoro really came into his own, he was quite simply more powerful and had better cardio.

He won the fight by unanimous decision.

Bout 9.

Roy Doliquez Vs Alvin Ramirez

Round 1:

Doliquez was always pushing the action in this bout and the much more experienced Ramirez must have wondered what was going on, no matter what he did Doliquez seemed to have an answer, I felt I could see the heart draining out of Ramirez as the first round progressed and then with around 15 seconds to go he looked at Doliquez, smacked his own ass and exploded battering Doliquez   with a very effective attack. Then the round ended. It was probably not enough to win the round but it gave Doliquez something to think about.

 Going into Round 2 ~ I wondered if Ramirez would start it as he finished round 1, sadly the answer was no and Doliquez started with effective kicks, then he took Ramirez down and standing over him, kept placing kicks into Ramirez, while Ramirez attempted to protect himself with some powerful looking up-kicks.

Somehow they both ended up on the ground and Ramirez was on top  but he just did not do enough meaningful work.

Roy Doliquez was awarded the win by Unanimous Decision.

Bout 10.

Frolain Sarenas Vs Nicholas Mann

This superfight was going to be a tough affair for Sarenas who stepped up a weight class to tackle a very buff Nicholas Mann.

The fact that this fight went to a decision says a lot for Sarenas heart as Mann really was considerably bigger looking and seemed to have the beating of Sarenas with punches or kicks and yet he could not put a game Sarenas away. The first round was close, the second round not so much as Mann benefited from his physical size advantage and although he never looked likely to stop Sarenas, he also never really looked to be in any danger.

Mann won the fight by a unanimous decision.

Sarena fought gamely but the weight difference and size really was a factor.

And at around 1:30am that was it a very enjoyable night of fighting and probably the best live night of fighting I have attended all year. The reasons are very simple URCC have been running for ten years have it down pat. A very well run show with enough entertainment  pre-fights to keep the crowd happy. The quality of the match making by URCC match maker Willy Carlos is so far ahead of any other Asian MMA organisation. No easy fights for certain fighters because of which gym they are attached too, just tough fights.

Filipinos love to fight and Filipinos love to watch fights this creates a superb atmosphere. Each fighter gets to come to the ring with just two corner-men, so you don’t get any of the scenes you get at ONE FC where everybody has a few corner-men until an Evolve fighter is on and then something like fifty people pour forward completely crazy and an unfair advantage.

My grateful thanks to Alvin and Bubbles Aguilar and Willy Carlos and all at the URCC for looking after me.

And that should be that but I try to keep it real and our latest contributor “The Dinner Lady”  wants to have her say. She in fact demanded I print this.

My Brother is Married to a Filipino lady and both he and my Mother live in the Philippines, So when “The Editor” said he wanted to go to Manila to report on the URCC event and support the boys (Will Chope and Mark Striegl) I was happy to go along. I invited my Brother and his Wife to join me, knowing that if they enjoyed themselves, they could become regular attendees with their large extended family.

The tickets said 7:00pm and we were there having killed a few hours shopping in the Mall of Asia a fantastic Mall right next to the SMX Convention Centre where the event was being held.

The Editor met us with our tickets (thank you very much the URCC) and we joined the considerable queue that was already building up.

The line did not move until about 8:00pm and when we finally got to the front of the queue we found out why it was so slow-moving. Everybody was being checked minutely. The sign stating what you could or could not bring into the event was right at the entrance door, Not at the start of the queue but right at the point where you have been in a queue for over an hour. If the sign was where people entered the arena they would probably go back to their cars and drop all their purchases from the mall off. But after over an hour people were getting mighty pissed off. Every women was having the contents of their handbags minutely searched  and expensive items like perfumes were being thrown away in bin bags. Some people had at this stage had enough and just walked away. My Brother was made to empty his pockets and my Sister in law had to throw some hand sanitizer away, I hid her very expensive Chanel perfume in my ample cleaverage! They also tried to make her throw away her diabetic tablets and so she demanded they get their boss who some minutes later turned up and said of course she could keep them! All this time the people behind us were waiting.  We were by this stage very angry as were those around us. The person next to me had a pack of playing cards removed yet I had two packs in my bag and nothing was said about them, no logic!

I had to throw away a can of insect repellent, and some hairspray that I had just purchased, everything into a bin bag while the security guard stood with a smirk on his face.

Now at least 30% of the audience were females and they were almost all accompanied by males this was going to take a long time.

If the signs had been by the entrance, if somebody could have walked down the queue telling people what they could not bring in, they could have removed them in advance.  It would have made a big difference.

The show started at around 9:15 pm with a large number of people still trying to get in.

As for the event itself: I loved the energy, the fights and fighters were all top notch, but the start really put such a cloud on the event it was a great pity.

I do hope the URCC will take my rant on board and for future events make it better, it almost spoiled a great event.

URCC 21 Warpath The Event That Rocked pt 1

URCC 21 Warpath The Event That Rocked pt 1

Published on April 30, 2012 by The Editor in URCC

MMAnewsAsia was pleased to be present at URCC 21 Warpath Not only was it an excellent event but it celebrated URCC founder Alvin Aguilar’s Birthday, a special event indeed.

So this is the glamorous life of the MMA fighter is it?

I met two of the fighters we will call them by their code names to protect the innocent. So Mugen and The Kill! I met them at their hotel and so we and their entourage of hangers-on, which of course included myself!  We Were ready to leave for the venue. We all got into the team limo, all seven of us in a car built for five normal sized people, not a super tall white guy or a super fat white guy! So we were all squeezed together very intimately. 

It was another scorching hot Manila day and I may or may not have already had a couple of  ice-cold san mig lites to guide me on my journey at the Cubana Cafe on P. Burgos  the fighters of course could not join me pre-event.

Arriving at the very smart SMX convention centre the fighters and I lined up for our passes, they got theirs soon enough but I was left pass-less and hot in the sunshine surrounded by the other participants and assorted others all trying to get their passes.  There was nothing sinister in it my pass just had not turned up yet, it was soon sorted and I had an All Access pass. MMAnewsAsia had finally arrived in Manila, thanks URCC.

I wandered around the arena, the ring sitting raised in the middle with its walkway awaiting the fighters entrances. Sound was being tested and lights were flashing, my excitement was building.

For the fighters, a different build up, friends arrived bearing gifts, walk-in t-shirts and a banner to display when they enter the ring. Next it’s time for them to get their wraps on and then just prepare for the coming storm however that’s an hour or more away so time to relax. To get their mindset ready.

The fighters tents are split into the two corners, they are quiet places where the fighters just prepare, there is no glamour here it’s all about the business of getting ready. However thankfully on such a hot afternoon it is air-conditioned. There was a TV in the room which was showing a feed of the ring they would all soon be approaching. But for now they just had to wait.

While the stadium fills up, a female presenter from the Colt 45 beer people was running some fun and easy competitions in an attempt to give away buckets of beer. Some quizzes, some fights with giant boxing gloves and some beer chugging.

The clock ticked on past eight and still the build up continued the crowd were slowly filing in.

At nine pm the band were ready to play, what band? Oh I didn’t tell you about the band? Sorry a band were ready to blast out some sounds. Then the national anthem was played and everybody stood and observed it.

Next we got to meet all the fighters and then it was the birthday boys turn, Alvin Aguilar head honcho at the URCC, this was his baby ten years ago and my how it’s grown.

Let’s get to the fights!

For those of you familiar with the UFC or ONE FC the rules at URCC might come as a bit of a surprise.

The fights are two round affairs but the rounds are 10 minutes each with two minutes between rounds. Also as there are no draws allowed in URCC events, if it’s level after two rounds then there is a third round of 5 minutes.

In case anybody is wondering. I love these rules. I wish ONE FC had copied them.

Fred Lim jnr Vs Adam “Kim” Cacay

Round 1:

Lim went to ground after a kick and from that moment on Cacay was in control, but somehow Lim turned it around and was soon in full mount and proceeded to ground and pound, then he got Cacays back and attempted a rear naked choke, eventually Lim lost position and again Cacay was on top and in control and that’s how it continued swaying from one side to the other, very even.

Round 2.

Cacay began the second round on top against the ropes and so the ref moved it to the centre of the ring, Cacay was still looking comfortable until Lim once again turned it around. The crowd was well into this and the fighters were both of a god quality.

The fight continued to switch back and forth until finally at 6:40 of round 2 Cacay finished it with an armbar, Lim did not want to tap and fought it for as long a possible but eventually he had to tap.

A great first fight. 16 minutes of to and fro action.

Bout 2.

Charles de Tomas Vs Issac Tuling

Round 1.

This was another two round battle. de Tomas started the fight on top and looking very comfortable and in full control, he was using some nice elbows while on the ground. The fight sung back Tulings way as he had de Tomas in a  guillotine choke but not for long, next de Tomas had applied a serious armbar attempt which somehow Tuling turned into and survived. By this stage Tuling was bleeding from a cut to his forehead. The first round finished with the two fighters evenly matched and still going at it.

Round 2.

This round again was a real backward and forward affair but eventually just before the end of the fight at 9:29 Tulling won via tap out.

Well we were two fights in and both had gone deep and both were cracking affairs full of heart and excitement. This may be because one of the aces up the URCC’s sleeve is the excellent matchmaking skills of Will Carlos. I truly believe that this man is the best matchmaker in Asia. If only ONE FC would ask him to matchmake their events (unhindered), they truly could become the pinnacle of MMA in Asia.

Before the next fight I wish to tell you that the level of refereeing so far is exceptional and the MC is a real character with a great sense of humour and charisma. These guys are making this show a joy.

Bout 3.

Russel Iniong Vs Mark Dialogo

This fight was yet another barnstormer. Standing up they were very balanced, both men swinging for the hills in an attempt to take the others head off. On the ground it was a different story as Iniong was always in control.

Unless Dialogo could catch him during the stand up exchanges it could be a long evening for him and as it turned out it was as the fight went into the second round and at the 7:20 mark, Iniong finished it with an Arm Bar.

Three fights and all have gone past the 15 minute mark, this is exceptional entertainment.

That’s the end of the first part of our coverage. Part two will follow after yet more san mig lites have been consumed. Manila is treating us well, very well.

URCC 21 Warpath An Epic Night Of Fights

URCC 21 Warpath An Epic Night Of Fights

Published on April 29, 2012 by The Editor in URCC

The URCC Celebrated Founder Alvin Aguilars Birthday with URCC 21 Warpath

And it was an amazing nights entertainment, but first let’s get the results out there shall we:

There were some late changes to the last fight card we published.

Fred Lim Jnr Vs Adam “Kim” Cacay ~ Cacay via armbar 6:40 round 2

Charles de Tomas Vs Issac Tuling ~ Tulling via tapout 9:29 round 2

Russel Iniong Vs Mark Dialogo ~ Iniong via armbar 7:20 round 2

Mario Sismundo Vs Miquel Alo ~ Alo via armbar 9:34 round 2

Jonathan Sumogat Vs MJ Abrillo ~ Sumogat via rear naked choke 6:30 round 1

Mark Stiregl Vs Alcer Lozada ~ Striegl via rear naked choke 3:33 round 1

Will Chope Vs Angelito Manguray ~ Chope via rear naked choke 2:59 round 1

Jenson Estiro Vs Rosaldo Trasmonte ~ Estiro via unanimous decision (after 3 rounds)

Roy Doliguez Vs Alvin Ramierez ~ Doliguez via unanimous decision

Folan Sarenas Vs Nicholas Mann ~ Mann via unanimous decision

The longer round times, the top quality match making and the fact that only fighters with genuine ability get into the URCC rings certainly make for a superb evenings entertainment.

We will of course be bringing you much more coverage of this event over the next few posts.

URCC 21 Warpath The Weigh-Ins

URCC 21 Warpath The Weigh-Ins

Published on April 27, 2012 by The Editor in URCC

In Manila and it’s Time for the URCC Weigh-ins

So as 10:00am approached I was walking around the streets of Manila heading towards the address I had for the Games And Amusement Board offices. It was only a 1.5km walk from my hotel, but boy was it ever HOT and to make matters worse I seemed have gotten lost.

Of course by the time I had found the building my carefully studied look was gone replaced by a sweaty mess of overweight white man.

I had to sign in at the main entrance and then sign in again at the GAB office.

Unlike some organisations the weigh in’s at the URCC are all business, unsurprisingly I suppose given the venue.

It’s a low-key affair lots of MMA T-shirts on display but nothing like as many as you would expect,

 The fighters were all sitting in the corridor waiting to be called to the small room that held the scales. 

There were a few hardy journo types trying their best to get photos of the fighters but it’s not my scene. I’m rubbish with a camera and if I am honest this is my first time at a Philippine event, a URCC event and I only knew two of the competitors (Team Buffets Chope and Striegl) and I wanted to observe rather than get useless pictures.

I did get to meet a few other fighters but really at the time they have other things to worry about and frankly what am I going to find out from talking to them. Did you make-weight? What do you know about your opponent? It’s all boring and predictable stuff. I leave all that to people with way more talent than I have.

No, I like to write about the organizations, the set up, the event. Fighters are a part of the show but the show is the story for me.

That being said I did speak to a few of them. One of my better questions was “Why do fighters always where such awful pants for weigh-ins?”

Now, you know why I don’t do fighter interviews often!

Look guys you know you are gonna to strip down, please make an effort.

So that’s it a low-key professional affair.

Now, let’s get ready for the fight night!

So, I know what you are wondering, did the fighters make-weight?

I guess.

I did not check all the weights. Look, this is a hobby, I don’t get paid for this stuff. I was busy meeting people! And one of those people was Will Carlos, probably the best matchmaker in the whole of Asian MMA and a real nice guy.

URCC 21 – Warpath Fight Card and Preview Oh and a PODCAST!

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Ep44 URCC 21 preview with Alvin Aguilar

URCC 21 – Warpath Fight Card and Preview Oh and a PODCAST!

Published on April 24, 2012 by The Editor in PODCAST, URCC

This weekend in Manila URCC put on their 21st show Warpath

At the SMX Convention Center, Pasay, Manila, Philippines (It’s near the Mall of Asia!)

And on this podcast we discuss the fights and the top quality match up’s.

We discuss the future plans of the URCC including a planned event in Dubai in October this year, with an American event set to follow.

We discuss which fighters in the URCC today could possibly make it to the UFC.

And finally I bring up the Eric Kelly question which Alvin kindly answers.

As well as being one of the longest established MMA organisations in the Asian Pacific area they also have a reputation for putting on tough fights and finding very talented (tough) fighters.  The Filipino’s love to scrap and even more so in front of an adoring audience.

Let’s have a Preview of the Fight Card shall we.

Dennis “The Dynamite” Salazar (2-2-1) Vs Adam “Kim” Cacay (2-1-0)

Salazars career at URCC did not start too well, one draw and two loses was not going to get him far. His losses were both TKO’s one due to punches the other a doctors stoppage. But, that was 2007! After that he set about improving his game and he came back in 2009 with a first round submission win. Then another two years passed and he picked up another win via submission against Philip Delarmino, his only loss to date. And a few months later Salazar is ready to finally have a positive rating but to make it 3-2-1 he has to beat……

Cacay lost his first URCC fight in early 2009 but made up for that with two win’s in 2011. This fight promises to start the evening events off with a bang, this will be a tough close fight.

Charles “El Tigre” de Tomas (3-2-0) Vs Isaac Tuling (3-2-0)

Well on paper these two are well matched with identical records and factually I think that is the case, neither of them has a recent run of wins or losses. So look out for a real close battle.

Mark Dialogo (1-1-0) Vs Fred Lim (no record)

Two up and coming fighters sadly i don’t have much information on them.

Mario Sismundo (1-0-0) Vs Michael Dan Rubio (1-2-0) 

Both of these fighters are looking to start to build a reputation in URCC. So, expect to see a lot of action as both these fighters try to prove they are worthy.

Junathan Sumogat (2-0-0) Vs Mark Joseph “MJ” Abrillo (0-1-0) 

Sumogat has a solid 2-0 start to his URCC career and will be looking to take that to a 3 in a row and although

Abrillo started his URCC career with a loss back on November 2010, however it was to George Lusadan who went 4-0 on that day!  But Abrillo’s amateur career was 4-1 and you have to imagine the year and a half lay off has given him time to really prepare for his comeback. Get ready for fireworks!

Mark “Mugen” Striegl (9-0-0) Vs Alcer Lozada (1-1-0) 

I’ll bet when Lozada was training for Andrew Benibe (4-2-0) he thought he had a tough enough task on his hands, when Benibe had to pull out due to a cut above his eye, he must have thought he might get an easier ride. But, this is the URCC there are no easy fights. He  has to fight (Team Buffets) Striegl who is a rock solid 9-0. If Lozada pulls this one off his stock will rise massively.

Will “The Kill” Chope (9-5-0) Vs Angelito “The Saint” Manguray (4-1-0)  

Chope is the other half of Team Buffet and has turned his record a round from a miserable 1-4 to a storming 9-5. This should tell former URCC Lightweight Champion

Manguray all he needs to know, however apart from a submission loss last time out to Honorio Banario , his record is just one knockout after another. Chope will be trying to get him down and Manguray will be doing his best to keep it standing up, should be an interesting battle.

Jerson Estoro (4-2-0) Vs Reysaldo “Onyok” Transmonte (2-1-0)

Estoro has had an up and down career so far at URCC and indeed his last fight was a loss to Will Chope who is also on this card, however he is well matched up with
Transmonte so this should still offer lots of action.

Roy Doliguez (1-0-0) Vs Alvin “Sindikato” Ramirez (4-4-0) 

Doliguez with a debut win last year will be looking to make a name for himself but first he has to beat

Ramirez which will be no easy task and Ramirez has much more experience.

Main Event

Froilan Sarenas (3-0-0) Vs Nicholas “The Apprentice” Mann (3-1-0)

Sarenas is the reighing URCC Middleweight Champion and he doesn’t like to go too depp into any fight, all three wins have come in a total time of less than 10 minutes but

Mann has won his last three fights in not much more time – So this bout promises to be explosive and will be a fitting finish to an exciting nights fighting.

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