FILIPINO-AMERICAN Mark Climaco had an impressive outing in his return to the Bay Area with a convincing unanimous decision win over over Brazilian veteran Victor Dias on Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024 (PH time), in the main event of Legacy Fighting Alliance 192 at the Kaiser Permanente Arena in Santa Cruz, California.
The 26-year-old Climaco went the distance with Dias, a submission artist, in a three-round battle.
He outclassed Dias in all of the judges’ scorecards with scores of 29-28, 30-27 and 30-27.
Climaco is now 11-2 with two knockouts and a submission, while 33-year-old Dias dropped to 12-4 along with a knockout and seven submission victories.
He won his second straight fight after losing in the semifinals of the Road to Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) tournament to Rei Tsuruya.
At stake in that tournament was a contract to the mixed martial arts’ biggest stage, the UFC.
Following Climaco’s impressive win, his UFC dream is still alive.
Climaco and his older brother Sean, a Muay Thai fighter fighting in the ONE Championship, have Cebuano roots.
Both of their parents are from Cebu that migrated to the US. / EKA