BLEACHERS BREW EST. MAY 2006

Someone asked me how my blog and newspaper column came to be titled "Bleachers Brew". It's like this, it's an amalgam of sorts of two things: The bleachers area in the stadium/arena where I used to sit when I would watch baseball, football, and basketball games and Miles Davis' great jazz album Bitches Brew. That's how it got culled together. I originally planned on calling it "The View from the Big Chair" that is a nod to Tears For Fear's second album, Songs from the Big Chair. So there.

Saturday, April 6, 2013

Catalan mistake leads to Silva victory in One FC: Kings and Champions



Catalan mistake leads to Silva victory in One FC: Kings and Champions
by rick olivares

April 5, 2013
Singapore Indoor Stadium

Kallang, Singapore -- In the weeks leading up to One Fighting Championship: Kings and Champions, Filipino wushu champion Rene Catalan insisted that ring rust – he last fought in 2007 as he spent a lengthy stint in Canada working as a wushu coach – would not be a factor in his flyweight match up with Brazilian Alex Silva.

And for a while, Catalan looked like he would live up to his word as he took some great shots at the Brazilian while demonstrating terrific speed as well as great submission defense and reversals. But while attempting an elbow strike while on top of Silva, Catalan spun the wrong way giving the Brazilian an opportunity to execute a triangle armbar on him.

It was all over at the 4:34 of the first round sending the Filipino wushu champion to a loss in his Mixed Martial Arts debut.

“Gusto ko manalo para sa sarili ko at para sa bayan sa unang laban ko sa One FC,” said Catalan during the weigh in one day before the fight. “Pinagaralan ko yung style ni Silva at kung paano ako didiskarte sa kanya.

Catalan who hails from Santa Barbara, Iloilo, worked on other learning other martial arts disciplines such a Muay Thai, boxing, and striking to augment his wushu skills. “Iba yung mixed martial arts. Kailangan may ground game ka. Kapag wala medyo dehado ka sa mga wrestlers at mga magaling sa submission tulad nila (Shinya) Aoki.”

He surprised Silva who got him on the takedown but soon found the Filipino on top of him who began to rain hammer fists on his head. Catalan would later admit that it was inexperience that caused him the fight. “Disappointed ako,” he said from his hotel room the day after the fight.”

Catalan took some consolation when Matt Hume, One FC Vice President for Operations and Competitions told him “you’ll be back”. Catalan will return to Makati where he is now based and try to prepare in time for One FC: Rise to Power that will be held on May 31, 2013 at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.

Notes: Catalan’s manager is Russian Alex Smirnov who recruited him to teach boxing, striking, and Muay Thai in Beijing, China from November of 2012 to March 2013. Catalan is a Sea Games wushu gold medalist in 2003.



5 comments:

  1. Avoid using "diskarte" you should have used your own skills not diskarte because that only means that you are just fighting only by chance..

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    1. Honestly, I think he meant that too. Cut him some slack. Some people really aren't great in expressing themselves.

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  2. Sorry, but last I heard catalan was from Cabatuan, iloilo and not from Sta. Barbara, Iloilo,

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    1. I'm sorry too because I asked him straight up and he's from Sta Barbara.

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  3. The deal with ilonggo anyway. Their football standard is not good enough even in local standard

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