The fighters and organizers of the “Karambola” Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fight card pose for photos during a presser at the Mactan Sports Complex on Saturday, February 10, 2024. | By Glendale Rosal
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fans in Lapu-Lapu City will be in for an action-packed treat as the first “Karambola” fight card takes place on Sunday, February 11, at the Mactan Sports Complex.
The Mactan Fiesta Committee, Mactan Barangay Council, and the Malawian MMA collaborated to make this 13-bout fight card happen as one of the activities for the barangay’s annual fiesta celebration.
The main event features veteran fighter and ex-boxer Tonix “Silent Warrior” Borres of JB Dream Gym against Malawian Jiu-Jitsu’s Mcdom “Wolverine” Malawi, who will have their third Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) match.
Both Borres and Malawi have one win apiece in their previous encounter on the mats. This time, they will settle their MMA beef once and for all.
“Kasagaran man gud sports diri sa Mactan basketball, so atong gi-introduce ug balik ang MMA. Ang among gusto mainganyo ug madasig ang mga kabatan-onan diri sa amo nga makat-on ug self defense, ug usa pud makahatag ug kalingawan nila malayo sila sa dautang bisyo,” said Mactan councilor Eric Igot Caballero during a presser on Saturday.
Caballero was joined by fellow organizers and the rest of the protagonists featured in the fight card.
For their part, Malawi and Borres vowed to give fans an entertaining showdown in their main event BJJ duel.
“We will be both competitive and display our best techniques in our own ways,” said Malawi.
“Nindot gyud ni nga duwa kay ikatulo na ni namong panag abot. Hinaot maka inspire mi sa mga batan-on ani among fight,” Borres added.
There are five BJJ matches, six MMA, and two kickboxing bouts lined up for the entire fight card.
The rest of the BJJ matches will feature Raffy Malawi versus Joed Bolutano of MCS-MMA, Christian “Sniper” Tan vs. Norman “Jaguar” Enriquez, Aljun “Merekat” Majo Jr. vs. Reymart “The Specter” Tauy, and Zachary “Badger” Tan vs. Andrei “Fireborn” Enriquez.
Also included is the all-female BJJ showdown between Emmilou “Honey” Catipay versus Abegail “Firefly” Malawi.
In the MMA, Taiga Oril of JB Dream Gym takes on Al-Shardiz “Yoyoy” Damlani of Two Edge MMA, while the co-main event will have Lourence “O-dong” Pendejito of JB Dream Fitness Gym against Angelo “Anghel” Anciano of P3B MMA Gym.
The rest of the bouts include Geno “Bad Boy” Padilla of Malawian MMA versus Kim “Super Jet” Bimbal of Lapu-Lapu Striker, while Keith Sumalinog of MCS-MMA will lock horns with Mark “The Destroyer” Sungahid of Hyper Eagle MMA.
Igot-Caballero will also showcase his MMA skills by squaring off with Joshua Colonia in the undercard.
On the other hand, the two kickboxing bouts will have Richard “The Monster” Sungahid of Hyper Eagle MMA versus Leevan “Jason” Lausa of Two Edge MMA and Isaac Dela Cruz of Lapu-Lapu Striker versus Chris Ong of Projectile Muay Thai.
Tickets are pegged at P50 for general admission, P100 for ringside, and P150 for VIP. The curtain opener is at 7 p.m.
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