This appears on philstar.com
Five for five:
It’s a rousing night for
Philippine MMA at ONE FC: Rise of Heroes
by rick olivares
Jujeath Nagaowa vs. Jeet Toshi
Indian kickboxing champion
Jeet Toshi walked to the cage to the song “Hit ‘em high” by B-Real, Busta
Rhymes, Coolio, LL Cool J and Method Man (from the Space Jam soundtrack) before
her fight with Filipina counterpart Jujeath Nagaowa.
The lyrics to the rap song
– the them of the film’s villains, the Monstars – goes “If you hit ‘em high hit
them high hit ‘em high; if you hit ‘em low hit ‘em low hit ‘em low.”
And well, the 4’11”
Nagaowa proceeded to do just that by hitting Toshi high and low. Darned near
pounded her into submission. From the opening bell, Nagaowa was like a pitbull
on Toshi whaling away with near impunity. At one point, the Indian momentarily
pushed the Filipina away and cast a look of “what do I do?” to her corner.
The answers never came
only more punishment.
Toshi actually got the
first shot of the fight. A kick that hit Nagaowa but one that hardly hurt her. After
that Nagaowa was all over Toshi. In a colossal mismatch, Nagaowa rained with
relative impunity strikes on Toshi who got hurt in the initial flurry. In the
second round, Nagaowa landed 10 consecutive shots on Toshi. When the Indian
backpedaled, she got no respite and she got tagged. Hard.
All that the crowd was
waiting for was for Nagaowa to knock out Toshi or for the referee to stop the
match. Ultimately, referee Oliver Coste stepped in to mercifully put to an end
the beating earning Nagaowa a TKO victory and her first MMA win.
Eugene Toquero vs. Gianni Subba
In the pre-fight press
conference, Eugene Toquero showed his gift for gab in taunting Malaysian up and
comer Gianni Subba.
Come the opening bell,
Toquero was all business. In addition to looking remarkably ripped, Toquero
displayed a frightening new facet to his game – an excellent ground game where
he reversed several of Subba’s takedowns after which he mashed the Malaysian’s
face over and over.
In the first of the three
rounds, Toquero accidentally kicked Subba in the groin area with such force
that the crack of flesh and bone on the cup guard was heard throughout the
arena. The referee temporarily stopped the match for Subba to regain his
bearings. On the other hand, it also rested Toquero who was never one to
display patience inside the cage. Subba who showed great poise in his
three-match win streak at the ONE FC was never the same after that.
Toquero secured several
takedowns in the final stanza, and earned the nod on all three of the judges’
scorecards. The man who spends so much time in front of the mirror fixing his
hair is now 1-1 in the ONE FC and 5-1-0 overall.
Ana Julaton vs. Aya Saeid Saber
Much of the pre-fight hype
or even the large crowd (the best attendance in the three ONE FC events held at
the MOA Arena thus far) was due to the participation of Ana Julaton who made
the big switch from boxing to MMA. Julaton received the loudest ovation of any
of the fighters and the crowd, like Gilas Pilipinas nine months earlier, gave
her a boost in the face of embarrassing defeat.
Saber didn’t show any fear
from Julaton nor was she bothered by the hometown crowd. Although the Egyptian
absorbed a few more strikes from the Fil-Am, she had taken down Julaton twice
in the first round. The Hurricane reversed them both to come out on top and
land some hammer fists on the Egyptian.
That didn’t deter Saber
who came out aggressive in the second round. After taking down Julaton once
more, Saber tried to slip in a guillotine choke and force the Fil-American to
tap out. Digging deep into her reservoir of determination, Julaton wriggled
free to whale away at her opponent.
In the third and last
round, Saber took down Julaton who looked remarkably adept at reversing the
move. Only this time, she didn’t step off the gas pedal as she landed devastating
hammer firsts and elbows on her hapless opponent forcing the referee to
intercede and award the win on the former boxing champ.
Rey Docyogen vs. Joshua Alvarez
Did anyone get the plate
number of that fist?
For the entire three round
match, Rey Docyogen, in his first match in a year since back-to-back losses in
the ONE FC, showed that he is a much different fighter now. The Team Lakay
fighter not once gave Fil-Guamanian Joshua Alvarez breathing room in a stunning
display of punishment. Alvarez repeatedly ate fists and knees and for a time
reminded me of how some of Manny Pacquiao’s Mexican foes would absorb so much
punishment but stay on their feet. Alvarez was just that.
It was a rousing return to
the cage for Docyogen who went home with a unanimous decision victory to stop
the bleeding and go to 11-2-0.
Eduard Folayang vs.
Kotetsu Boku
Eduard was uncannily
focused and in superb shape. The Team Lakay fighter showcased his improved
wrestling skills and takedown power with an emphatic body slam of his
Japanese-Korean opponent in the first round. Folayang nearly forced Boku to
submit in the first round with an armbar but the bell sounded saving the former
ONE FC Light Heavyweight Champion.
Folayang continued to
assert himself in the second round against a game Boku who I have not seen in
this assertive in five ONE FC matches. Sure there was that win against Arnold
Lepont who should hang it up. Boku looked to turn the tide in the third and
final round as he traded blows and kicks with the Filipino. But the knockout
punch wasn’t forthcoming as Folayang earned a unanimous decision win; his second
consecutive in the ONE FC after two consecutive loses.
This one put Folayang
firmly back on the winning track and improved his MMA record to 14-4-0.
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