Another Fil-Am fighter makes name in UFC

Another Fil-Am fighter in the mold of Brandon “The Truth” Vera is making heads turn in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Philippe Nover, born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, made a big dent in his young, promising career in mixed martial arts by finishing a strong second in “The Ultimate Fighter 8” early this month.

Nover submitted Joe Duarte, Dave Kaplan and Goerge Roop via kimura or rear naked choke that lasted not more than two rounds on his way to the lightweight finals before he dropped a three-round decision to Mexican Efrain Escudero to finish the year with a solid 6-1-1 (win-loss-draw) record.

Although he lost, Nover impressed UFC president Dana White and TUF8 coach Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira with his ferocity and aggressive style that the two even compared him to Anderson Silva and Goerge St. Pierre, the current UFC middleweight and welterweight champions, respectively.

White even went as far as saying Nover could be the most talented fighter ever to appear on the reality show produced by the same people running the UFC.

Despite the heaps of praises, Nover, nicknamed “The Filipino Assassin” remains down to earth.

“I’m fighting my hardest and my best and I’m a pretty well-rounded fighter and respectable guy,” said Nover in www.ufc.com. “But I’m humble like Anderson (Silva) and GSP (St. Pierre), and I was blown away by the words that Dana and Nogueira said. All I wanted was to get on the show and win my first fight.

“I never even thought I could blow up this much and I’m glad that my fans enjoyed it, that Dana White was really impressed and what he said in the semis really blew me away.

“I hope I can keep doing what I’m doing, I’m training like crazy, and the only way to go is up so I’m going to keep on doing what I’m doing,” he added.

So dedicated was Nover, a Brazilian Jiu-jitsu blackbelter who is into muay thai, karate, kung fu and arnis, that he gave up his work as a registered nurse in the ER of the Coney Island Hospital to focus on fighting.

“I’ve dedicated the last six months of my life to fight. I quit my full time job. Sacrificed my social life. I have eaten earlier than ever before. I feel like a rocket and nothing is going to stand in my way,” he said.

Nover, who competed in the Ring of Champions before jumping ship to the UFC, said fighting in the UFC is a dream come true.

And like Vera, he sticks to a belief like millions of Filipinos back home.

“The UFC is the NBA of mixed martial arts. I guess dreams come true when you work hard for them. Kung may sipag at tiyaga, may nilaga,” he said.

It means with hard work and patience come great rewards.