CEBU, Philippines - Cebuano fighter Renan ‘Limbas’ Noblefranca promised to give his best shot when he defends his Yaw-Yan Fighting Challenge Championship (YFCC) junior lightweight title against Arnel ‘Ronin X’ Ylanan of Team Project X in the main event of the ‘Bakbakan sa San Remigio’ kickboxing fightcard on May 15 at the Artemio Masbate Sports Complex in the bustling northern Cebu town of San Remigio.
“Honestly, I am not fully prepared going into this fight but one thing I can assure is that I will never let him (Ylanan) get my belt,†said the 22-year-old Noblefranca in a press conference the other night at the Yaw-Yan ArDigma Headquarters.
It will be Noblefranca’s first defense of the belt he seized with a lopsided unanimous decision victory against Mindanao’s Steve ‘The Lightning’ Sevilleno in July last year at the Cebu Coliseum.
For his part, the bigger and taller Ylanan said that capturing the belt will be very important in his career. He is also seeking for a win that would boost his confidence as he dreams to make it big in Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) someday.
“This is my first time to fight for a belt and I hope to make an impression.It is not an MMA championship, but a victory will surely help me in my goal to succeed in this sport,†said Ylanan, who recently won by split decision over Johnjier Torbiso in the Universal Reality Combat Champion (URCC)-Cebu last January.
In the supporting main event of the slambang show presented by Yaw-Yaw ArDigma Cebu through its dynamic Founder/CEO and Vis-Min Director Benigno "Master Ekin" R. Caniga, Jr. in partnership with the municipal government of San Remigio led by Mayor Jay Olivar and International Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (IPI), the unbeaten Jordan ‘Labuyo’ Balcita of Yaw-Yan ArDigma-Fervilleon will mix it up with the veteran Johnjier ‘Durex Danger’ Torbiso of Durex Dragon Kickboxing Club.
In the other featured match, Ronilo ‘Buffalo’ Espra of Arcomjukai Kickboxing Club of Mandaue will take on Junrey ‘Tongboo’ Soquite of Durex Dragon.
Seven action-packed kickboxing bouts have been lined up to entertain the spectators leading to the main attraction.
Also, the full-contact tournament serves as a qualifying phase for the sixth installment of the highly-successful "Ground & Pound" series billed as "GP VI:Resolution" slated on August 31 at the Cebu Coliseum. (FREEMAN)