Aussie bet whips Sarenas in key URCC showdown

MANILA, Philippines - Reigning light-heavyweight champion Nicholas Mann firmed up his claim as one of the country’s top MMA (mixed martial arts) fighters as he dominated Froilan Sarenas in the Superfight of the URCC-Colt 45 XXI: Warpath at the SMX Convention Center over the weekend.

Working on his height and heft advantage, the 6-foot Mann, who hails from Australian but trains at Hybrid Yaw Yan, used heavy blows and rear leg kicks to dispose of Sarenas and become the first fighter to beat the reigning middleweight titlist in the URCC.

The win was the fifth straight for Mann since dropping his maiden URCC match to Igor Subora two years ago.

“He’s really tough, he combined his size and power to beat Sarenas,” said URCC founder and president Alvin Aguilar.

Equally impressive was bantamweight Jeron “Salleng” Estoro of Prizefighter MMA who beat Reysaldo “Onyok” Transmonte of Team Yawsa in a thrilling showdown in the 10-fight card presented by Colt 45 and sponsored by Red Bull.

Both Estoro and Transmonte slugged it out in a furious ground and standing bout to the delight of the crowd. But Estoro emerged the winner in the end by scoring the most telling blows, including a thunderous right punch to Transmonte’s face late in the match.

Others who shared the spotlight were pinweight Roy “Demolisher” Doliguez (Elorde MMA), who outlasted Alvin “Phenom” Ramirez (Yaw Yan Buhawi) and lightweight Will “The Kill” Chope, who scored a rear naked choke over Davao’s Angelito “The Saint” Manguray (BEEFIT Pythons Pit).

Featherweight Mark “Mugen” Striegl, meanwhile, upended Alcer Lozada in the featherweight clash of the event backed by Chris Sports, VRP Medical Center, Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, Red Box Karaoke and Anzahl Paint. Solar Sports, Pinoy Extreme Channel and Rogue Magazine were the media partners.

The other winners in the longest running MMA event were flyweight Adam Cacay, bantamweight Isaac Tuling, pinweight Rasel Iniong, featherweight Miguel Alo and pinweight Jonathan “Spartan” Sumogat.