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"Havoc" in the Judge's Eyes

by Jaime Sin

URCC Havoc turned out to be one exciting event. The fight card didn't look attractive lacking any superfights, but amazingly ticket sales were very strong with P500 tickets being sold out 2 weeks before the event. This was kind of odd since URCC is used to selling out the tickets on the event day itself. July 24 was also a special day since it was also the date of La Salle-Ateneo duel in the UAAP. So, there were two big events during the day. Event was jampacked earlier this time with Michael Tan of Asia Brewery and Christine Reyes as among the VIPs watching the show seated just behind us. Crowd response to Christine Reyes was amazing when she was focused on camera and shown on the projection screen. A lot of guys were shouting "I want a date with Christine...." Alluding to her TV commercial.

Going into the 1st match is Bernard Soriano against Wushu's Honorio Banario. Bernard drew first blood as he rocked Banario with his hands, but Banario countered with steady kicks. Banario then took control of the fight by using his legs to punish Soriano and landing big hits to the head of Soriano. Banario then took down Soriano and did some ground and pound which forced Soriano to tap out. So, it was Banario winning by tap out with 2:55 in the first round.

Second fight was between Wrestling Association of the Philippines Noel "Tazmanian Devil" Norada and WMF Muay Thai's Ramy Megrino. This fight was classic wrestling against striking. Fight didn't last long as Norada threw Megrino to the ground and immediately mounted him. Norada then rained punches on Megrino on the mount which prompted Megrino to tap out to avoid more damage. Fight was finished at 1:37 in the 1st round.

Third Fight was in my opinion best fight of the Night. This was between Andrew Benibe of Maic's Gym and Jessie Rafols of D' Elements gym. Andrew Benibe is veteran warrior while Jessie Rafols is an up and coming young fighter. Rafols skills have really improved tremendously and I think he could become champion soon. The fight started with Jessie Rafols doing a perfect hip throw on Andrew Benibe, then Rafols mounted Benibe and attempted an armbar which Benibe escaped and reversed positions with Rafols, Benibe then took his turn mounting Rafols. Then Rafols again reversed postions with Benibe. Rafols then did a couple more hip throws on Benibe and he finally submitted Benibe with an "Americana" Kimura. Fight ended with 9:12 on the first round. Andrew Benibe also announced that this was his last and final fight in the URCC after the event due to injury and age. Benibe's fighting heart will be missed in the URCC.

Fourth fight was between Reysaldo "Onyok" Transmonte of Muay thai Association against Philippine Army's Lino "The Terminator" Tagacay. Transmonte was first to initiate contact by slapping Tagacay with a leg kick to the face which woke him up drawing laughter from the crowd. Tagacay then worked for the takedown which opened his neck for a guillotine which Transmonte attempted. Tagacay, however knew how to escape the guillotine which he systemically able to do so. Tagacay then started using his boxing doing an overhand right and left/overhand right combo which accurately hit Transmonte and opened a cut in his left eyebrow. First round went to Tagacay. 2nd round was a different story as Tagacay looked spent and exhausted while Transmonte looked he just warmed up. Transmonte just kept his distance and systemically scored with his kicks on Tagacay. Round 2 went to Transmonte. When the judges' decision was read, it was a unanimous draw which gave the two fighters another extra round of 5 mins to fight and settle who the winner will be. 3rd round was the same as the second round as Tagacay looked really exhausted and was just defensive and Transmonte was still scoring. When the buzzer finally sounded, it was Transmonte who got the decision.

Fifth Fight was between Hybrid Yawyan's Carl ‘The Virus" Sabeniano and Elorde MMA's Jerson Estoro. Estoro was the favored fighter coming into this fight with an unblemished record of 4-0. While Sabeniano was coming off a loss to Deftac's Ali Khatibi. Estoro looked confident entering the ring while Sabeniano also looked relaxed. People also expected this fight to be grappling vs. striking as Sabeniano is known for jumping guard and using the rubber guard in putting opponents to sleep using the "Gogo plata" in his previous fights. While Estoro is a hardened Muay Thai fighter bludgeoning his opponents with his legs and ramming their guts with his knees. However, the biggest upset in ages happened as Sabeniano cornered Estoro and faked a right punch then spun around for a backfist using his left hand. Estoro went for the feint by covering up but lowered his left hand after and was about to counter punch with his right hand when Sabenianos' spinning left forearm hit Estoro's head on the side. Boom!!! Estoro went down cold. Crowd was stunned! Fight was finished after only 18 seconds in the 1st round. So, there you go, Yawyan's spinning backfist actually works in combat.

Sixth fight was between Ukrainian Igor Subora of Strikes Unlimited and African-Filipino Panchito Estrada of Elorde MMA. Igor is a naturally muscled 230 pounder standing 6'3 while Estrada is only 5'10 and had to pack on the weight in his stomach to reach 220 lbs. Igor looked like he was going to crush Estrada with their difference in built. But, when the fight started, Estrada was the aggressor raining punches on Igor. Igor had to turn around to shield his face from the punches a couple of times because Estrada was punching him from different angles. However, Igor got his bearings straight after surviving the salvo of Estrada and took down Estrada. Igor then got Estrada's back and sunk in the rear naked choke. Estrada tapped at 4:21 of the first round.

Seventh fight was between Ari Zarco of Maic's Gym and Eric Kelly of Yaw Yan Ardigma. This proved to be an easy fight for Eric Kelly as expected. Kelly took Zarco to the ground and worked to get an ankle lock. Zarco tried valiantly to defend his legs by turning and pulling his legs, but Kelly wouldn't let it go. Zarco finally tapped as his knees got twisted where his old injury was located. Fight was finished at 2:41 of the 1st round.

Eighth fight was between Deftac's Reggie "Baby Ama" Amarante and Muay Thai's Charry De LaCruz. Amarante and Cruz traded punches and kicks at first but Amaranted thunderous straights were very accurate and battered Chary's face into a plump. Amarante couldn't finish Cruz even with all his efforts and it was left to the judges to score a unanimous decision for Amarante.

Ninth fight was between Froilan Sarenas of Submission Sport Philippines and Iranian Razi Jabbari. Froilan Sarenas is a purple belt in jiujitsu with Atos/VPF while Razi Jabbari is a veteran fighter and has trained with numerous teams and coaches. As expected, Sarenas took Jabbarri to the ground by tying him up and doing some dirty boxing and throwing some knees to Jabbari from time to time. Sarenas didn't let go of Jabbari and he didn't allow him to do his striking game. Jabbari was tied up from start to finish. Sarenas finally tripped Jabbari and went immdediately to the mount and tried to armbar Jabbari, but Jabbari was able to escape and they reversed positions. Sarenas however still went for the armbar from the guard position and swept Jabbari by holding his legs. Jabbari tried his best to escape the armbar, but the purple belt in Sarenas just wouldn't allow it and was able to execute the armbar, and Jabbari finally tapped. Fight stopped at 5:50 in the first round.

Final fight was between Saipan's Team Haga Jordan "Jungle boy" Ogo and Wushu's Roy Docyogen. Docyogen was the favored fighter coming into this fight, but since it was a night of upsets I thought who knows what's going to happen? Ogo is nicknamed Jungle boy since he lives in the island of Pagan where the population is only 40. Pagan is an island and a live volcano and is 180 miles north of Saipan. Ogo is also known as an unorthodox fighter training and wrestling in the grass fields inside their farm where they live. Roy Docyogen on the other hand is the reigning champion and is a seasoned and well rounded MMA fighter. When the match started, Ogo didn't disappoint as he proved to be very strong as he and Docyogen took turns taking down each other. Ogo would also strike Docyogen by chopping which was another unorthodox striking form similar to the spinning backfist of Sabeniano of Hybrid YawYan which brought down Muay Thai champion Estoro. Ogo would also escape the mount by "snaking" himself out by lack of a better term, but it was effective for him and he was able to escape a lot of bad positions from Docyogen. Docyogen also tried to armbar him from the Guard, but Ogo lifted him up and slammed him to the ground. This happened around 3x demonstrating the strength of the Jungle Boy. Docyogen then attempted a kimura and got the back of Ogo and executed a rear naked choke. Ogo tapped with 9:26 in the first round.

So, that was URCC Havoc, a night full of upsets and thrills! Thanks to all the sponsors especially K-1 Extreme Sportshop. Keep on Punching!!!