Tonight was MMA Wars in Olongapo. Well actually it was inside Subic base (SBMA) at a basketball arena close to Remy Field running track. I went along to support some local Angeles City guys who are fighting for a local MMA team in Angeles, “Team Rivera”. I trained with some of these guys at the local Brazilian Jiu Jitsu academy in Angeles led by Janz Rivera as their trainer a Chute Boxe fighter Filipino American.
This was the guys from Angeles debut fight, having never competed in an mixed martial arts (MMA) bout before.
The fights started around 2 hours later than published (Filipino time!) and went on until almost 1am! It was tiring, and unfortunately by the time the main fight came on I was already feeling pretty tired. But it was still a great night, with ringside seats costing only 100 peso! And that included a free beer.
There were a few fighters from Olongapo, Manila and then the Angeles guys. The fights were pretty evenly matched, and although they fought well the guys from Angeles failed to come out ontop of any fights. The best result was a loss by split decision. But, considering it was their first time fighting in a real MMA bout they did themselves proud. Any guy who steps into the ring has my utmost respect.
The Angeles guys I beleive could have got some better results had they relied on their Jiu Jitsu techniques. Most of the guys they were up against were punchers and kickers, muay thai kickboxers, karate and taekwondo. If they had stuck tot he rules of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, avoided the punches, closed the distance and taken them down I believe they would have had better results. Most seemed to stand toe to toe with them afraid to go to the ground.
The next MMA Wars is scheduled to be in Angeles, let’s hope we can do better next time!
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