MANILA, Philippines - Meeshal Al-Khuzeem used his height advantage and quickness to beat Ateneo’s Ralph Mendita as La Salle dominated the Colt 45 Universal Reality Combat Championship (URCC) University Challenge at the A. Venue Events Hall in Makati over the weekend.
The 5-foot-10 Al-Khuzeem, who is three inches taller than Mendita, came through with a lightning-quick move to win via a rear naked choke against the 5-7 Mendita in 2:43 of the first round of their welterweight encounter.
Three other La Salle fighters – pinweight Jojo Tabang, lightweight Andrew Laxa and flyweight Mark Limbaga – also prevailed over separate rivals in the event presented by Colt 45 and backed by Alaxan FR, E-Games, Chris Sports, Seair, Yoshinoya and Tribal Gear.
Limbaga downed Boyet Luna by armbar submission in 1:43 of the first of the scheduled three-round, five-minute contest. Laxa also scored a rear naked choke decision over Angelo Cristi of St. Paul while Tabang dispatched Albert de Guzman by armbar submission in 3:43 of the first round.
However, it was Lyceum’s Warren Franco who impressed the Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fans who packed the hall as he posted the fastest victory in the 15-bout affair. He needed only 69 seconds to beat La Salle’s JR Rulloda by armbar submission in the other pinweight clash.
Salvador Almeria, the 5-foot-7 striker from San Sebastian College, stunned the 6-foot Chuck Chang of La Salle by rear naked choke in the cruiserweight.
Equally impressive were Lexx Sadie of Informatics (middle), Paolo Enriquez of Samson College (bantam), Jaguar Tang of Enderum and Bryan Tolentino of College of St. Benilde who scored similar technical knockout (TKO) wins over their respective rivals.