Gym owners to clash in Ground & Pound V: Retribution

CEBU, Philippines - A showdown between gym owners will jack up excitement to the keenly-awaited Ground & Pound V:Retribution - a kickboxing and Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) event set at 7 pm on August 8 at the Cebu Coliseum.

Ali "The Grappler" Malawi of Mixed Fighting System, who maintains a gym in Lapu-Lapu City, gears up for one big war against Voltaire "Rough Neck" Gonzales of Red Dragon MMA of Tagbilaran City in the main offering of the MMA action.

Malawi and Gonzales will lock horns for three rounds under the pinweight (110 lbs.) class.

"It's going to be one hell of a fight. Malawi and Gonzales both own a gym and are similarly skillful. Their match boils down as to who is the hungrier and more determined fighter," said Yaw-Yan Cebu ArDigma founder and Vis-Min director Master Benigno "Ekin" R. Caniga, Jr.

Another must-see encounter is the MMA superfight fearturing Ricardo "D Hammer" Cubillas of the Butuan Extreme MMA against Samchai Sir-Rencho of Tenbudo MMA Malaysia set for three rounds under the middleweight (170 lbs.) division.

Also to watch out for is Renan "Limbas" Noblefranca of Yaw-Yan Cebu ArDigma, who will square off against Jobert "Da Sniper" Bayling of Cagayan de Oro City's Wushu Sanshou in the main attraction of the kickboxing card.

The Noblefranca-Baylin rumble is billed as the battle between the pride of the Visayas and the best of Mindanao.

Tickets are priced at P100 for the upperbox, P300 for the lowerbox, P500 for the ringside and P1,000 for VIP/Sponsor.

 Presented by Yaw-Yan ArDigma Martial Arts Sports Promotions, the action-packed show is sponsored by Tanduay, torturefight.com, and RJS Metal Ads and Prints in association with the Cebu City Sports Commission, K-1 Extreme Sportshop, Ironics Internet Cafe. Yaw-Yan ArDigma-Sacramento, USA, and Fahrenheit Design and Solution. –EBV   (THE FREEMAN)