‘Heart of a warrior’
-A A +AMonday, July 16, 2012
A BROKEN hand, a knockdown and brutal blows to the head failed to prevent visiting MMA warrior Lorde Rey Yamit (8-3-1) from wresting the inaugural Ground and Pound (GNP) lightweight crown.
The 34-year-old businessman by day and MMA fighter by night overcame adversity and forced heavy-handed Mark Araneta (5-3) to quit on his stool going into the third round of the main event of the stacked GNP VI – “Invincible” MMA and kick boxing show last Saturday night at the Cebu Coliseum.
“I think I broke my hand in the first round because I hit him so hard. I thank the Cebuanos and I’ll be back to defend the title,” Yamit told Sun.Star Cebu after the fight.
Both fighters came out swinging in the opening round, trading vicious blows to the head. Yamit attempted a flying knee but Araneta countered with a right straight that knocked the charging Butuan Extreme MMA stalwart. Yamit regained his composure and the fight was going back and forth.
“We both gave everything we had. He is a very tough guy, I hand it to him,” Yamit said.
Going into the second round, both fighters seemed to have lost their steam after a brutal exchange in the first five minutes of the fight.
“I was hurt in that fight but because of my conditioning I recovered fast,” said Yamit, who got with a brutal punch in their exchange.
“There was a point that I was going to quit but my coach encouraged me to continue and that belt was too precious,” he said.
Yamit dominated the second round and banked on his pin-point accurate punches. Near the end of the second round, Yamit took down Araneta and unleashed a barrage of punches but the latter was saved by the bell. An exhausted Araneta refused to come out for the third round.
Yaw-Yan Ardigma Cebu Top Team lived up to their name and swept the opposition, 6-0.
Leading the pack was Renan Noblefranca, who scored a unanimous decision over rival Steve Sevilleno in their much-anticipated kick boxing rematch. Noblefranca captured the vacant YFCC bantamweight title with scores of 50-45, 50-45 and 50-47.
Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on July 17, 2012.
Sports
Forum rules: Do not use obscenity. Some words have been banned. Stick to the topic. Do not veer away from the discussion. Be coherent and respectful. Do not shout or use CAPITAL LETTERS!
