Wednesday, June 26, 2013
KING'S Sword Martial Art’s Miel Gerenale defeated Jelen Xavier of Tagum Nightmare MMA via unanimous decision during the Smoker Fight Pre-Qualifier held June 22 at the Maxima Resort and Aqua Fun in the Island Garden City of Samal.
The five-footer Gerenale, being the smaller fighter weighing only 98 lbs., subdued the much bigger Xavier with an impressive turning hook kick on the face in the third and final round.
Xavier, who stands 5’4’’ and weighs 112 lbs., was on the advantage as he took an aggressive approach and kept Gerenale at bay in the beginning of the first round. Gerenale was able to pull himself together and began landing a number of kicks and punches towards the end of the first round.
“It was a full-packed action of kicks, knee strikes and punches,” describes Nell Jone Astudillo III of King’s Sword.
Astudillo said that Gerenale’s training in American Bushido Karate and Muay Thai was an advantage to his win. Gerenale was also named Most Promising Fighter of the event after his stellar performance. His bout was also named the Fight of the Day.
Aside from Gerenale, amateur boxers Adrian Benedict Bautista and Rian Alterado from Alterado Xtreme Combat (AXC) also showed promise by beating their respective rivals.
Justin Dayot (220lbs) of Beefit Python’s Pit bested James Larroza (248 lbs) of Nightmare Mixed Martial Arts of Tagum in the main event.
Bautista of AXC overcame Jerry Hilot of Python’s Pit while Dennis Quinonero of Cenojas MMA (CMMA) prevailed over Allan Calit Yasis of Davao City.
Ian Duay of King’s Sword, Brandon Lascuna of Metrolifestyle and Alterado of AXC also axed wins.
“The event showed that there are a lot of enthusiasts who are interested in playing MMA,” organizer Dr. Vince Vicente said.
The event was participated by CMMA, King’s Sword, Pythons Pit, AXC, Nightmare MMA of Tagum, and Ian Garcia of Cebu Yawyan.
The event served as a pre-qualifier to the Smoker Fight XII slated in October. (RJFL)
