FC BRAWL 4 SPRAWLING SUCCESS PART 1

ENTER THE OCTAGON OF FURY
By: James U. Sy Jr.

The Fight Club BRAWL (Bacolod Raw Amateur Warrior's League) IV “Hunger for More” was all that it was hyped about. 24 fighters from Bacolod, Dumaguete, Escalante, and Iloilo Cities met inside the octagon in 12 explosive Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) bouts last August 4, 2007, 9:00 P.M., at the Negros Occidental Multi-Purpose Activity Center, Bacolod City. About 300-350 people witnessed the fights.

The Fight Club BRAWL 4 was presented by the Fight Club Combat and Streetfighting Center (FC) of Founder/Chief Instructor Edwin “Bong” J. Tusil with the support of the Brotherhood of Mixed Martial Artists of Bacolod (BOMB) and Intercontinental Federation of Filipino Martial Arts Schools (IFFMAS).

The event earned the distinction as the first inter-regional level MMA tournament to be held in Bacolod , Negros Occidental, and Western Visayas, the 2nd MMA competition to be held inside the octagon in the city, province, and the region, and the 7th MMA event to be held in Bacolod and Negros Occidental.

Black Falcon Martial Arts Association-Main (BFMAA-Main) of Chief Instructor and Wushu Federation of the Philippines Negros Occidental Coordinator Joery C. Amante took the overall championship title with a 3-1 harvest. Host Fight Club Combat and Streetfighting Center (FC) of Founder/Chief Instructor Edwin “Bong” J. Tusi comes in at 2nd with a perfect mark of 3-0.

Round 1 Boxing Gym of Joseph “Santi” Magno and PJ Magno de Best and Bertar MMA of Founder/Chief Instructor Edilberto A. Arcositas shared the 3rd place spot with a 2-0 win-loss streak.

Tribu Hangaway (TH) of Founder/Chief Instructor Roy R. Flores Sr. (1-5), Oriental Negros Top Ten of Hon. Henry Teves (1-0), and Octagon Martial Arts (OMA) of Founder/Chief Instructor Carmelino “Jun” Rojo Jr. were 4th to 6th places respectively. Thunder Kick Martial Arts Club-Escalante Chapter (TKMAC-EC) of Head Instructor Jesus “Jess” Flores and Tumbatsu Strikes and Submissions International ( Iloilo ) of Founder Gilton Solis (both 0-1) tied at 7th place.

The Fight Club BRAWL 4 made a few MMA records in Negros Occidental and Western Visayas . Of the 7 MMA tournaments held in the province and the region, it was the one with the most number of participating groups at 9 and the first to have a 100% stoppage in all the bouts.

Wushu Sanshou was the most represented with 11 fighters, followed by Kickboxing (5) and MMA (3). Other arts represented were Karate (2), Western Boxing (2), and Brazilian Jiu-jitsu (1).

Dancalan Kickboxing champion Julius Dohinog of BFMAA-Main, 108 lbs., battled it out with BRAWL 3 silver medallist Edmund Beguiras of TKMAC-EC, 108 Lbs., before finally forcing Beguiras to tapout from a rear naked choke at 4:26 of the first round. Dohinog remained undefeated in MMA with a 3-0 streak and crowned BRAWL champion for the third time. Beguiras’ MMA mark is down to 0-2.

Former Karate competitor Victor Tore of FC, 116 lbs., choked out debuting 2006 Negros Wushu Sanshou champion Norris Alison of TH, 116 lbs., at 3:55 of the first round. Torre is now a 3 times BRAWL champion with an undefeated record of 3-0. Alison is now 0-1 in MMA.

2007 LGDC Regional Wushu Sanshou silver medallist Joselito Bianan of BFMAA-Main, 114 lbs., forced 4 times BRAWL veteran Ravelo Guavez of OMA, 136 lbs., to tapout at 0.51 of the first round. Bianan’s MMA record is now 1-0 while Guavez is down to 0-4. Bianan’s 51 seconds work was the shortest fight of the night.

2006 Negros Wushu Sanshou champion Rosendo Trayco III of BFMAA-Main, 114 lbs., dominated debuting Joseph Fabrigar of OMA, 118 lbs., before Fabrigar verbally surrendered at 2:58 of the first round. Trayco is now 0-1 in MMA while Fabrigar is 0-1.