Thursday, July 19, 2007 Quijano: Ringside seats to Mixed-Martial Arts By Jingo Quijano Last Round
WHAT profits a fighter if he wins accolades for his courage, but loses his arm?
This must have been foremost in the mind of American Kyle “Superman” Thomas when he submitted to Filipino Mixed Martial Artist Jeffrey “Mac Hojas” Alcaraz in the Ground and Pound 3 at the Cebu Coliseum last July 14.
Kyle’s left arm is reportedly titanium implanted, and he was forced to cry uncle when Alcaraz caught it in an armbar bringing the fight to a halt in a mere 48 seconds of the first round.
I immediately heard grunts of disappointment from many of the fans seated next to me, but hey, that is how it goes in the world of mixed-martial arts.
The action is intense and one mistake can cost you the match.
Upon the invitation of Yaw-yan Ardigma Master Benigno Caniga Jr. and Richard “Lionheart” de Dios, this boxing fan watched “Ground and Pound 3” accompanied by my buddy and Balintawak stick-fighting master Eddy Basa.
I was pleasantly surprised to find bottled beer being sold, and immediately wasted no time imbibing on my favorite poison, while gazing at the warriors doing battle.
One fighter that caught my eye was Jay-R Villagracia as he looked like the legendary Kostya Tszyu inside the ring, ponytail and all. Like Tszyu, he was also relentless in his attacks which netted him a TKO win.
INEXHAUSTIBLE. Mixed-martial arts events in Cebu, though still relatively new, is fast gaining ground. Watching the young eager fighters climbing the ring one after the other, I got the impression that we have a seemingly inexhaustible pool of martial arts talent that we can tap time and time again.
Here are a few suggestions, though, which I hope the organizers will consider:
1.) Try to intersperse the kickboxing matches with the mixed martial arts matches to break the monotony. The latter were reserved for the last few remaining bouts as they were the most awaited, but by that time, some people had already left the arena, as it was too deep in the night.
2.) And speaking of too deep, no main event, whether it be boxing, mixed-martial arts, or Martin Nievera’s grand finale should wait until around 1:30 a.m. By then, most people have already left (including the participants in the earlier bouts). We do not want the ones remaining to wish that the event would be over and done with just because they are too tired already.
Overall, it was a well-organized event and the Last Round salutes the hard working people responsible for its fruition.
FACES. Seen at ringside were Cebu City Councilor Sylvan “Jack” Jakosalem and his pretty wife Sharon, as well as World Nickelstick Eskrima Club Grandmaster Nicomedes Elizar and the fighting doctor, Jovencio “Ben” Marapao, a Balintawak master in his own right.
MORE ROUNDS. Just in case you are wondering why I am gnawing at that violent bone in your body today, the Last Round, will also appear every other Thursday, in addition to its regular slots on Tuesdays and Saturdays.
KLITSCKHO’S JAB. Now that I am starting to pound the mitts for myself, I am getting to appreciate more and more the degree of difficulty, proper boxing technique entails. Just perfecting the proper way of throwing the jab is an odious task, one that requires proper form, timing and fundamentals.
Wladimir Klitschko’s jab is one of the best in boxing. Just the other week, we saw him keep Lamont Brewster at the end of it for several rounds. Aside from keeping Brewster at bay, the jab also set up several big flush right hands.
Of course, the fact that he’s 6-foot-6 with a reach so long he can poke you with it while you’re still parking your car in the arena, made things doubly difficult for the uninspired and tired-looking Brewster.
If Wladimir can continue to brandish that jab magnificently, he can probably hold off a slew of title contenders and hopefully prevent any one of them from tickling his brittle jaw.
THE LAST ROUND. It is on my companero with the killer jumpshot, Atty. Allan Bacaltos who is now based in the US but loves to read the Last Round on the internet. Cheers!
