Mixed Martial Arts: The Philippine Setting
By DENNIS GASGONIA
abs-cbnNEWS.com

Rock music was blaring from the stadium’s sound system as Mark Sangiao started making his way towards the octagon. Inside the “cage”, his opponent was waiting.

For weeks, Mark endured intense training at the gym to increase his strength and improve stamina. In those weeks, he practiced how to effectively deliver strikes and kicks as well as warding off counter-attacks. It’s all part of his two-month routine.

The hardest part of the preparation, he said, was the shedding of excess pounds just to make the weight. “Maraming hirap at sacrifices. Kung malapit ang laban, gutom ang inaabot ko. Kailangan ko kasi talagang mag-lose ng weight,” Mark said.

He used to be part of the wushu national team that represented the country in the 2001 Southeast Asian Games in Malaysia. Now that his RP stint is over, he continues to fight.
His wife Raquel was sitting among spectators at a lower box seat, watching her husband climb the cage with rapt attention.

Raquel said she has grown accustomed to her husband’s profession as a fighter. But she admitted that sometimes she would still shake with fright whenever Mark gets tangled with his opponent inside the cage.

“Kasi hindi talaga ako mahilig sa ganitong sport, sa kanya ko lang natutunan manood nito. At pag talagang siya na ang lalaban, talagang minsan nanlalamig ako,” she said with a worried face.
The opening bell rang and the fighters started walking at the center of the cage. The crowd hollered with frenzy as the match begun. This is the local mixed martial arts scene. To local fight fans, this is MMA.

MMA and its popularity

MMA is a full contact combat sport that allows the use of a wide variety of fighting techniques and martial arts disciplines, which include muay Thai, taekwondo, karate, kickboxing, Brazilian juijutsu and wrestling.

Modern MMA burst into pop culture back in 1993 with the creation of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. During the early days of the UFC, competitors from various disciplines were pitted against one another to find the most effective martial art for real unarmed combat situations. This led to the development of a hybrid of martial art styles.

The UFC has produced a number of popular MMA personalities like Randy Couture, Chuck Liddell, Royce Gracie, Ken Shamrock and yes, even a Filipino American fighter — Brandon Vera.
MMA has become one of the fastest rising sports in the globe. And just like any other pop hit, MMA eventually made its way to the Philippines.

URCC and FFC

Filipinos are no strangers to organized sporting fights. In fact, the Philippines is a boxing-crazy country as shown by the popularity of Filipino boxing champion Manny Pacquiao.
There is also an underground fighting scene wherein local martial arts enthusiasts tested their skills against other fighters.

In 2002, Brazilian juijutsu black belter Alvin Aguilar organized the Universal Reality Combat Championships (URCC) to give local MMA practitioners a venue to showcase their skills.
Despite its popularity overseas, Aguilar said that infusing MMA into the mainstream was a challenge at first.

“We formed URCC five years ago… when we started some people were saying that it was excessively brutal. Kahit ‘yung mga pulitiko sumawsaw sa issue,” said Aguilar.
However, after years of active promotion URCC has become popular not only in Metro Manila but in the provinces as well.

“Now it has become very successful. Everybody in the country knows us already because we also have been doing provincial tours,” he said.

In 2003, Alex Lopez created the Fearless Fighting Championships (FFC) to further promote MMA as a
sport not only for the young but also for aging athletes.

“Kasi in [Philippine] boxing you are only allowed until 35 to box. All you need is your youth and fast reflexes. In MMA you utilize your strength which doesn’t require youthfulness,” said Lopez, who eventually became FFC president.

Unlike URCC, which uses a boxing ring as their arena, FFC employed the use of the “octagon cage”.
“The big difference here is the use of the octagon. Cage fighting is very much different than using the ring. You can use the cage or it can be used against you,” said Lopez.

MMA: Too brutal?

To the squeamish, the sight of two fighters trading kicks and punches (at times turning each other’s faces into a bloody mess) while trapped inside a cage can really be a brutal sight.

However, MMA practitioners said that such view is just a common misconception.
“All sports have their own injuries to contend, but MMA is a lot safer compared to boxing. Actually there are around 15-20 deaths in boxing every year, while sa MMA, wala pa,” said Aguilar.
He cited as an example cases of old boxers like former world champion Rolando Navarette.

“Look also at old boxers like Rolando Navarette and how bad he is now. You compare him to old MMA fighters like Dan Severn, who is healthy up to now. And they are almost the same age,” said the URCC founder.

Lopez, on the other hand, noted that most MMA fights end up in submission unlike in boxing where pugilists would have to keep on fighting for several rounds.

“In boxing, the accumulation of head punches given to you up to 10 to 12 rounds causes a lot of head trauma. Pagtanda mo, baka doon lumabas ang problema,” he said.

Fighter’s safety

To ensure the safety of their warriors climbing the arena, both URCC and FFC make sure that their fighters are duly licensed by the Games and Amusements Board (GAB). This means that just like boxers, they would have to be physically-fit before being given a green light to brawl.

“Usually they undergo CT scan, hepatitis test… blood works, imaging of the brain, because those are contact sports. Thorough neurological and medical examination is a prerequisite as well as medical history,” said Dr. Nasser Cruz, head of GAB’s Boxing and Wrestling division.

Cruz said medical tests are required to make sure that each fighter is in A-1 condition before climbing the arena.

The medical observation does not stop there, he said. “[Kung] pre-fight magkakaroon ng medical examination, during the fight and after the fight din [meron],” said the GAB official.

Cruz said they are following the standards being applied by the Nevada State Athletic Commission.
“Kung gaano sila ka-strict, ganoon din kami ka-strict. So kung mapupunta sila (fighters) abroad, alam na nila what they have to undergo,” said Cruz.

MMA’s future in RP

Notable boxing analyst Ronnie Nathanielsz, who himself saw FFC’s event on August 29 in Pasig City, was impressed with the sport.

“MMA seems to appeal sa mga bata. This is my first time [watching a live MMA fight], you know. This is not my league, I’m a boxing guy and I’m too old for this. But I enjoyed it because of the conditioning ng mga atleta, maganda,” he said.

He added that judging on the way the crowd raved in each match, MMA has a very bright future in the Philippines.

“I think it has a great future. Judging by the crowd, you know it was not a full house but they were
very noisy, they enjoyed the fight, ‘Yun ang maganda. You build on that.”