MANILA, Philippines - Dave Galera and Will Chope dominated their respective rivals to emerge interim champions in their respective divisions during the Colt 45-URCC (Universal Reality Combat Championships) 23 at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay over the weekend.
Fighting for the Lakay Wushu MMA team, Galera used his quickness and smarts to gain a referee-stopped contest (RSC) decision over DEFTAC’s Red Romero in their bantamweight championship dubbed “Unrivaled.â€
In a brutal match witnessed by a sellout crowd, Galera wisely pinned down Romero to the ground before pummeling him with heavy blows to the head and body, prompting the referee to stop the fight in 3:43 of the third round.
More than stretching his winning streak to five in the event presented by Colt 45 and sponsored by Chris Sports, Tribal Gear, Bulls and Anzahl Paints, Galera’s win was enough to convince Alvin Aguilar, URCC president, to pit him against Jessie Rafols in a unification bout.
Galera’s title win further confirmed Lakay Wushu MMA’s status as the best MMA club in the country. Lakay Wushu also owns the pinweight, flyweight, bantamweight, lightweight and welterweight crowns.
Chope, on the other hand, beat Andrew Benibe by submission in the first round of their featherweight championship as the 6-foot-4 Chope used his length and strength to his advantage.
Chope will next face Ricardo Sapno for the URCC unification bout.
Other winners of the event also backed by Solar Sports, Uno Magazine, Juice.ph, Red Box and Optima for the night were Roy Dolinguez, Onyok Transmonte, Melchor Cases, MJ Abrillo, Fei Guo, Edmundo Velasco and Vaughn Donayre.