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South East Asia’s longest running MMA promotion Universal Reality Combat Championship (URCC) hosted their 25th major event at the SM Mall of Asia Arena on Thursday night. After more than a decade hosting shows in a traditional ring, the organization had a new look as they finally debuted URCC’s cage.
Headlining the card was Andrew Benibe and Reysaldo ‘Onyok’ Transmonte, in a rematch of their 2013 bout that ended in a razor thin split decision. They may have clashed in a new fighting surface and a much longer bout, but the two bantamweights simply picked up where they left off. Each stanza was very close and competitive encounters, and as the 5th and final round was about to start, it seemed like it was heading to the scorecards again.
At this point, they have already faced off for a total of 7 rounds and 35 minutes of ring time, yet the two were still inseparable with seemingly no clear cut winner on this evenly matched rivalry.
As the final round started though, Benibe displayed a sense of urgency as he felt he could very well be on the wrong side of yet another close decision. Not wanting to leave it to the judges, he upped the output and was starting to throw with more volume. He landed combinations and after almost 25 minutes of back and forth action, those punches finally took a toll and Onyok dropped. Benibe then quickly swarmed and managed to finish the bout with mere seconds remaining in the bout.
Not only did the grizzled vet manage to take revenge and put a stamp on that rivalry, he also claimed the vacant URCC Bantamweight Title in the process.
When asked who he wants next, he respectfully called out UFC veteran Dave Galera, who had to relinquish that very title Benibe now holds when he left the promotion late last year.
The co-headlining bout featured former 2-division champion Caloy Baduria facing off against fellow striker Mark Palomar. The bout lasted less than 4 minutes, but it certainly stole the show in a huge way. Palomar landed a right hook that hurt and dropped Baduria early, but then the long time URCC star displayed the grit that made him a fan favorite throughout the years.
After the knockdown, Baduria quickly shook off the cobwebs and had that smirk on his face as he egged on his opponent to keep exchanging bombs with him. Like most of his opponents throughout the years, Palomar found out the hard way that brawling with the heavy handed Baduria is a dangerous game. The Elorde product had his hands low and he rolled with Palomar’s punches, while constantly countering with power shots of his own. A few more punches from Baduria, Palomar dropped to the canvas and the crowd erupted after seeing a monumental come from behind knockout.
With the victory, Baduria improves to 9-4 with his losses coming from fellow URCC champs and established stars such as UFC’s Zhang Tiequan and Eduard Folayang.
Standing out on a fight card filled with exciting finishes, was Chris Hofmann as he took on Nickson Kola. After a brief exchange, the DEFTAC prospect landed a brutal hook that put his opponent out cold for an extended period.
Alvin Ramirez also put on a show on his URCC return as he knocked out Jessie Paul Del Valle in the second round. Win or lose, the Yaw-Yan Buhawi product has always delivered with entertaining bouts which has endeared him to Filipino fight fans.
47-year-old Dentist turned MMA champion, Angelito Manguray may have competed for the last time in the URCC and he took on yet another fighter almost half his age. Using a Karate stance on the feet, ‘the Doctor’ then showed that even at his age it’s never too late to learn new tricks, as he employed some rubber guard when the fight went to the mat. Unfortunately for the former lightweight champ, he wasn’t able to do enough to win on the scorecards and the decision was awarded to Miguel Mosquera.
Also picking up quality finishes on the card were Hideo Morikawa, Carlo Laurel, and Alvin Solinap.
The telecast of URCC 25: Takeover will be shown on October 26, Sunday 10:40pm at GMA 7.
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[nextpage title=”URCC 25 Results”]
URCC 25: Takeover Results
October 23, 2014 – SM MOA Arena, Philippines
Carlo Laurel def. Ric Myler Empil by Submission (Triangle Choke), R1 0:48
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Alvin Solinap def. Arnel Lomibao by Submission (Rear Naked Choke), R2 1:48
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Drex Zamboanga def. Joseph Mercado by Decision (Unanimous)
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Hideo Morikawa def. Ryan Jakiri by TKO (Elbows), R2 1:24
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Alvin Ramirez def. Jessie Paul Del Valle by TKO (Punches), R2 1:36
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URCC 25: Takeover Results
October 23, 2014 – SM MOA Arena, Philippines
Miguel Mosquera def. Angelito Manguray by Decision (Unanimous)
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Chris Hofmann def. Nickson Kola by KO (Punch), R1 1:00
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Caloy Baduria def. Mark Palomar by TKO (Punches), R1 3:59
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Andrew Benibe def. Reysaldo Transmonte by TKO (Punches) to win the URCC Bantamweight Championship, R5 3:59
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