(This has got to be this article's final version, revised today, September 22,2010 at 1:03 AM)
Here are the results (first name mentioned per match is the winner's) of the 2010 Colt 45 – URCC University Challenge held last night at the A-Venue , Makati City, along with my brief comments.
Match no.1 (pinweight 110-119 lbs)
Jojo Tabang (Hybrid Yawyan/DLSU) won by rear-naked choke submission in the 2nd round over Emielle Macalinao (Yawyan Buhawi/PATTS). It was a pretty even first round with a couple of reversals on the ground positions. Macalinao was the more visibly tired fighter at the start of the second round. Tabang took him down, eventually transitioned to backmount and finished him with the rear-naked choke.
Match no.2 (bantamweight 130-139 lbs)
Charles Lubrica (Strike and Shoot/Manila Central Univ.) won by TKO in the 1st round over Reyvan Mejia (Fist MMA Club-Team Underdog/Olivares College). Lubrica came out firing at the sound of the bell with accurate leg kicks. With barely 30 seconds into the match he connected with a kick on Mejia's left thigh followed by the fight ending right hook.
Match no. 3 (flyweight 120-129 lbs)
PJ Barrios (Toughguys Int'l/Our College of Fatima Univ.) won by arm bar submission in the 2nd round over Jay-R Bermoy (Yawyan Kampilan/Univ. of Perpetual Help-Data System). Perhaps Barros' victory could have come sooner in the very first round: twice he grounded and pounded on the supine Bermoy and once he was about to attempt a rear naked choke, but in each instance Bermoy's headgear slipped off. Consequently the ref stopped and reset the action every time. His victory proved fated though; he finally sank an arm bar in the second canto.
Match no. 4 (bantamweight)
Jessie Jurial (Yawyan Kampilan/ Emilio Aguinaldo College) won by TKO in the first round over Jeorge Turmon (PMMA Club/Olivares College). Turmon must have taken a longer time singing the national anthem than fighting as Jurial tranquilized him right away with a knee to the head very early in the first round (maybe Jurial didn't like Turmon's rendition of "Lupang Hinirang").
Match no. 5 (lightweight 150-159 lbs)
Kevin Dela Cruz (DEFTAC/DLSU) won by RSC in the 1st round over Aliecarl Tolentino (PAMA/EAC). Tolentino appeared to be the stronger of the two physically as he scored the first takedown and attemped long and hard for an unsuccessful kimura lock. For the best of the first three minutes, he ably maintained or regained the top position on the ground. But Dela Cruz' superior grappling skills soon leveraged against Tolentino, and the latter found himself on his back pinned beneath the former's full mount and initial ground and pound assault. Then Tolentino made the rookie mistake of turning prone on his belly, convincing the ref that he had had enough and stopped the fight 3:49 into the first round.
Match no. 6 (lightweight)
Patrick Angelo Gambe (DEFTAC/UE) won by arm bar submission in the 1st round over Alvin Solinap (Team Square/UPH-DS). Claiming the fight 26 seconds into the first round, this was the fastest submission victory of the night - or maybe even in the Univ. Challenge's relatively young history.
Match no. 7 (middleweight)
Bong Garchitorena (Yawyan Buhawi/AMA East Rizal) won by TKO in the 1st round over Michael Yap (Tricks MMA/NU). Garchitorena dislayed a fleeting flashback of an Igor Vonchanchin in his PFC prime by connecting with the set-up leg kick and the knock-out right straight all in the first 10 seconds, period!
Match no. 8 (bantamweight)
Fadi Alhamoui (Team Konstriktor/University of Regina Carmeli) won by split decision over Myron Myles Mangubat (DEFTAC/Olivares College). The closest match as evidenced by the split decision, after it coursed through the full three exhausting rounds. It was also for me the most exciting and technical, with both fighters about even in inflicting their over-all MMA proficiency against the other, with each having his shining moments. Well someone's got to win, and last night was Alhamoui's. (Their fight will make great material for an MMA 101 instructional video.)
Match no. 9 (welterweight 160-169 lbs)
Isiah Ordiz (S.P.R.A.W.L.*/STI) won by unanimous decision over Glenn Ranillo of Tricks MMA/UE). It lasted the whole three rounds yet it appeared that they still needed more time to to cause considerable damage against the other. This in spite of all the taunting and provocative gestures, mostly initiated by Ordiz. Maybe between two seemingly equal fighters, the one with more personality deserved to win. Honestly, I agree with the judges anyway that Ordiz accomplished more between the two anyhow-really. (It must have been his couple of knee strikes to Ranillo's head, from the muay thai clinch at the start of the second round, that clinched him the decision.)
Match no. 10 (middleweight)
Dennis Castro (Submission Sports/Letran) won by arm bar submission in the 1st round over Carlos Aljama (Aljama Mano-Mano - FMA). It didn't take long before Castro put Aljama in his pajamas with a smoothly executed arm bar, 1:29 into the fight.
Match no. 11 (lightweight)
Mesha'al Al Khazeem (Strikes and Submission/DLSU) won by RSC in the 1st round over Hani Ho (UP/S.P.R.A.W.L.). Thrice Ho attempted to wrestle Al Khazeem to the canvass, and thrice they fell, but every time it was Ho prone on the ground unintentionally. The first two times Al Khazeem full-mounted Ho and launched downward blows, then Ho turned on on his stomach, then squeezed out narrow escapes and brought the fight back on their feet. The third time almost the same sequence transpired, like a bad dream for Ho, except that it turned out for the worst as there was no more escape: when he turned on his belly again he was too tired and Al Khazeem, now secure on top and astride, relentlessly pummeled him until the ref mercifully woke him up from his nightmare. (Ho remained semi-conscious until the the wee hours past midnight.)
Match no. 12 (featherweight)
Carl Rodriguez (DEFTAC/Entrepreneur School of Asia) won by RSC in the 1st round over Marvin Ofracio (Lyceum/Team Dungeon). Entering the ring for the main event, Ofracio looked supremely confident with a cat's grin on his face until the bell signalling the start of the bout rang. It was all downhill and downcast from there as Rodriguez hit him with a two to three punch combo, wrestled him down and pounded him until the ref halted the action 3:15 in the first round.
*For the sake of full disclosure, yours truly is the founder and president of S.P.R.A.W.L.-MMA, Inc.
