TWO-TIME jiu-jitsu world champion Eros Baluyot achieved a significant victory in his budding mixed martial arts career by submitting veteran Rene Catalan in the Universal Reality Combat Championship (URCC) 87: Heroes event on Tuesday night at Xylo at the Palace in BGC.
Baluyot, 14 years younger than his 44-year-old opponent, needed a mere 71 seconds to secure a victory in the first round using his renowned ground game during their main event bout, supported by the main sponsor www.crazywin.ph.
Upon taking Catalan down, Baluyot swiftly sought an opportunity for a rear naked choke, successfully executing it and compelling Catalan to tap out.
“I executed everything precisely and safely during the fight,” said the undefeated Baluyot, now boasting a 3-0 record as an MMA fighter, after the match. As a gesture of respect to the veteran coach and former wushu sanda Asian Games gold medalist Catalan, Baluyot approached him both before and after the fight.
Catalan’s record now stands at 6-6.
At the conclusion of the fight card, URCC President Alvin Aguilar announced that CJ De Tomas will face Burn Soriano in a lightweight bout headlining URCC 88 on September 5.
In another MMA contest also endorsed by Lucas Lepri BJJ gym, Rex De Lara astonished the audience with a remarkable comeback win against Mhar John Manahan in their 145 lbs contest.
De Lara weathered Manahan’s ground-and-pound assault and ultimately capitalized on Manahan’s inability to finish him in the second round. De Lara slowed the pace at the outset of the final round, reaping the rewards as he caught Manahan and powerfully slammed him to the canvas.
The referee halted the contest after Manahan appeared to be knocked out cold, awarding De Lara an uncommon takedown knockout victory, elevating his record to 12-8-1 and causing Manahan’s record to dip to 2-4.
“All the fights were high-quality matches. We are extremely pleased with the Xylo crowd’s reactions to each fight. So, for our next card, we promise to deliver even more exciting and innovative bouts,” remarked URCC co-owner/ General Manager Aleksandr Sofronov.
Two grappling super fights took place, with Godwin Langbayan submitting Red Samson via RNC and Paige Alitao outscoring Troy Legaspi.
In the other pro MMA clashes, Rufino Mante knocked out Mark Cuizon, and Kerwin Tan scored a technical knockout after Marco Lampacan was unable to continue due to an injury sustained during their match.
The sole amateur MMA bout saw Paolo Cruz triumph over Jerald Vellarde with a unanimous decision.
Meanwhile, the bareknuckle boxing showdown between Christian Panliag and Chris Cantor concluded with Panliag securing a split decision victory despite enduring a first-round knockdown.
In slap battles that opened the night, Reynaldo Beltran triumphed over Milarde “Pongde” Hugo with a split decision, and Gerald “Makahighlord” Gabonada prevailed over Michael “Batang CamSur” Azucena with a unanimous decision.
