Five reasons why the Philippines and Singapore could be the next MMA hotbed in Asia

With the traditional MMA giants, such as Japan and Korea still in MMA doldrums, China, Hong Kong and Macau a bit iffy on the sport, Singapore and Manila coul well be in an interesting position for an MMA coup in the region.

Here are five reasons why  Manila may be the next hotbed ( we will tackle cheeky Singapore later)

A STABLE, DEPENDABLE PROMOTION

Recently, in  Macau, there was a fiasco where fighters were not paid and left stranded in the airport.Japan has also been hurt by the alleged ties of the promoters to the yakuza. Sevreal MMA promotions , like the much ballyhooed Martial kombat in Singapore have come and gone leaving fans with "when are they going to get this right" kinda feeling.

The worst thing that could happen to fighters is for its institutions to come tumbling down. When a promotion fails, it kills a fighters motivation and  momentum it leaves fighters with no stable "work space" and wreaks havoc on their finances.

Not to mention that sponsors will lose faith in the industry. In the Philippines, the opposite has been happening, there are more sponsors and more of the fighters needs are being met each year. MMA is the exciting , fresh, new kid on the block and it serves the coveted 18-36 year old demographic quite well.

As we mentioned South Korea and Japan are currently experiencing an MMA slump, Spirit and neofight are kaput. Sengoku is gone, Dream and Dare are still trying to prove itself. The Philippines URCC? well , it is one of the longest running MMA events in Asia -come November 21 2012 , the URCC will be celebrating ten years in the market, making it the longest running MMA show in Asia. Outlasting PRIDE of japan.
The Philippines may not have the fancy infrastructure, but the fighters are paid, fed and generally well taken cared of - in short they have a professional career with a stable promoter (URCC) looking after them.

Alvin Aguilar Knows MMA and knows what the fighters needs are

TOURNAMENTS / OTHER PLAYERS

The URCC has two major promotions a year in Manila. It has four Provincial tours (Baguio, Bacolod, Cebu and Davao), it also promotes at the university / college level and has now developed a grass roots program with Tribal gear in several provinces and in the metro - along with a few bespoke events the URCC alone throws down fourteen events in a year. With that amount, odds are there will be more talents discovered, and with that many tourneys, the talent  that has been discovered will now have a circuit for that talent to be further developed.

Other indicators are  the entrance of PXC , One FC ( which has recently partnered with URCC more proof) and rumors of  Legend FC HK, making a play for market share in the Philippines. Again, all the new promotions give the local fighters a chance to hone and develop their skill almost all year long - and that's just fighting in the Philippines.

We want Filipino MMA fighters

Did we mention Dana white's hard-on for the Philippines? its no secret. Either TUF or UFC will be in Manila, very soon. Mr. White knows that if he develops just one Filipino fighter ( read local boy) he will have tapped into the same demographic goldmine that makes Manny Pacquiao millions a year on PPV. The Filipinos in the USA are hungry for heroes and they are a huge minority with spending power.

SCHOOLS /CLUBS /GYMS

Lakay wushu, Yaw-yan, Deftac to name a few, have been around for decades. Lakay wushu has produced several asian games wushu champions and  MMA champs. Yaw-yan has a huge network of schools around the country-and  as URCC founder says "nowadays you cant throw a rock without hitting an MMA school in the Philippines" There's been an explosion of new MMA gyms, clubs and teams , and when you consider that apart from the traditional schools mentioned above, more and more jiujitsu schools abound, and MMA training is offered in places like colleges and even high schools

 TALENT
 Eduard folayang, Eric Kelly , Kevin Belingon have all proven their mettle against quality opponents. The good news is there are guys like Jessi Rafios, Reggie Amarante, Roy Docyogen, Honorio Banario, Alvin Ramirez waiting for thier international debuts. The Philippine bench is deep and its just getting deeper as MMA gets more popular. Filipinos are all about combat sports, enough said.

Talent runs deep

Banario Vs Manguray 2 - In URCC Davao

Honorio Banario who faced and defeated Davao legend , Dr. Angelito Manguray will face off once again on August 21, 2011 in Davao city, this will be another classic encounter as Manguray vows revenge on his home turf. For more details and updates visit the URCC website

MMA PHILIPPINES - ULTIMATE MMA TRAINING PHILIPPINES

URCC fighters are some of the fittest athletes in the world. One of the main reasons for this is that they have to crosstrain and train their entire bodies. There are not just a few muscles that they need to train. They do not need huge legs, arms, chest, etc. like a power-lifter or bodybuilder; however, they do need strong explosive muscles that can work intensely for a relatively long period of time. Most people do not want a body like a power-lifter or bodybuilder. They are too big and bulky. Bulk does not benefit an MMA fighter, in fact it is a hindrance, so if you want to look trimmer, feel fitter, and actually get in much better shape MMA training can help you out.

Here are three basic elements to attaining a fitter and better body, similar to an UFC fighter:

1. Circuit Training
2. Explosive Exercises for Strength
3. A program

1. In case you are unfamiliar with the term, circuit training is a way of training (and conditioning) that focuses on different parts of the body in a contiguous chain or circuit. After a full circuit is completed you either do another full circuit or take a brief break before getting back into it. Circuit training is HARD! This is a way to test your will to the limits while you workout! It is difficult because it trains your entire body, creating a cumulative effect of burn and fatigue. If you love training (whether it's weightlifting or conditioning) though, it is an incredible way to also compact your workout and save you time while working always at a steep intensity.

Circuit training can be used to improve your cardio, strength, and conditioning, even in the same workout. It is tough because it keeps your heart rate up making it harder to recover, but it is one of the keys to attaining a body like an MMA fighter.

2. Another important element of MMA training is to focus on exercises that build strength. It provides no advantage for an MMA fighter to look big and bulky. That bulk can be detrimental to them in a fight. That is why URCCC and MMA workouts do not tend to focus on building bulk; rather they do a lot of exercises that build explosive power. This includes a lot of different exercises: from power cleans to deadlifts (and other powerlifting exercises) to plyometrics to using kettlebells to weighted calisthenics. There are too many details to go into here, but remember that they train to build strength, muscle conditioning, and explosiveness within their whole bodies. Look at some videos on youtube to help give yourself get an idea about exercises you may want to do.

3. Finally, anyone who wants to seriously workout, and develop a nicer body needs a program. Without a program you are basically taking a stab in the dark (or many stabs). It can be fun to experiment and try new things in the gym, indeed this should be done to an extent; however, do you have to recreate the wheel when it comes to your training regimen? Of course NOT! In fact, you shouldn't even try. The more you read and know about MMA training the better you will be at it. No one will have exactly the same program as someone else; however, there are guidelines for constructing better programs. For example, some people may only workout a few muscles on any given day, rest those muscles and then workout others. As you can guess with circuit training, this process of rest is neither necessary nor the best way to get the body you want.

These tips on MMA exercises and strength conditioning will help you to work towards attaining the body of a URCC fighter. Remember to work hard and use your MMA workouts to improve your drive and focus.  Workingout and sport can be used as a method for improving ourselves and our drives.

BAMF in the Philipppines offers great URCC workouts check their B.A.M,F. website now

Cardio Respiratory Endurance and MMA

For anyone deciding to start training for MMA, fitness is a major issue. Fitness is the key to success and most successful fighters will tell you that being fit at an elite level has helped them throughout their tough career. Fitness is the goal of all athletes should strive for- the point is where do you start?
To be fit is not defined only by what type of activity/sports you do, but how long you can do it and at what level of intensity. Fitness takes time, patience and a lot of energy.
One of the essential factors in fitness is to have solid cardio-respiratory endurance. If you are constantly out of breath and tired, then you will definitely need to work on that before considering a fight. Every single athlete has to build his cardio respiratory status before he/she can compete in any sports. Once this improves, all component of the fitness game also start to improve.
Cardio respiratory endurance is defined as the ability of the body's heart and lungs (respiratory) to supply oxygen (fuel) during periods of continued physical activity/stress.
In all individuals, the ability to sustain a physical demanding sport requires that the heart continues to pump oxygenated blood to your muscles and then take away the waste products. Every part of the body needs oxygen and without this function, one can't exercise. The aim of cardio respiratory endurance is to build the capacity of each muscle to work more efficiently and also recover much faster at less reserves of oxygen.
With exercise, one slowly builds up the body's ability to deliver more oxygen for the working muscles. To build this type of endurance, the exercise must repeatedly utilize the large muscles and train them to work under differing conditions.
The more intense the training, the heart will start to beat faster as it has to deliver more blood at a faster rate. However, the heart can't continue to beat fast forever and there is a safe limit for all individuals. Once the exercise stops, the heart will slow down and the muscles will get a chance to rest and the waste products will be removed. With time both your heart and the muscles will quickly adapt to this hard work and also recover faster at rest.
To build the cardio respiratory endurance, there are guidelines set by the American College of Sports Medicine. It suggests that one perform aerobic exercises anywhere from 10-60 minutes a day for 3-5 times a week. The name of the game is to start slow. They highly recommend that during the exercise you achieve the training heart rate.
The training heart rate is easily obtained the following way: Subtract your age from the number 220 and that will be the maximum heart rate. Then obtain 60% and 80% of that number. These numbers reflect the lower and upper figures of your heart rate. You should try and stay in the middle. If the heart rate goes above or below these two figures, you should stop. By constantly staying in the required heart rate zone, your cardio respiratory endurance will build immensely in a few months.
The easiest way to monitor your heart rate is to know how to measure your pulse. On the wrist one can easily measure the pulse and this should be a regular feature in your exercise regimen. A large number of products are also available to measure you pulse rate.
You can perform any type of exercise to increase your cardio respiratory endurance form sprinting, jogging, cycling or walking. The activity selected does not have to be strenuous or heavy to improve your cardio respiratory endurance. Make the program fun and go slow, enjoy the type of exercise because the road to MMA is long and hard.

MMA Mozo
visit urcc for more info on mma 

MMA Philippines

MMA Philippines fight fans hold on to your seats as we explode 2011 with URCC's collission on April 2002,
Colt 45 URCC XIX: Collision looks to be one solid night of brain-pounding and bone-cracking action as it will feature 10 MMA fights from some of the biggest names in our country today.
Headlining the night is the much requested and awaited rematch of YawYan Buhawi's Alvin "Sindikato" Ramirez and the longest reigning champion from Lakay MMA, Roy "Punisher" Docyogen. These two will once again fight for the Pinweight title, which Docyogen calls his own since 2006. Ramirez lost via hard-fought decision to Docyogen in November 2009, where we saw Docyogen, for the first time, rocked and almost out of his wits. Since then, Ramirez notched two impressive wins, albeit against debuting opponents. While Docyogen fought only once and won against his first international opponent, defeating soundly Jordan Ogo of Saipan, last year. The question here is has Ramirez improved enough to knock Docyogen off his perch?
Co-headlining is a fight between South and North, as Docyogen's teammate, Honorio "Rock" Banario, tries to steal the Lightweight title from Davao's KO King, Angelito "Saint" Manguray. Manguray has been undefeated in the URCC and in his lone outing in Martial Combat, pummelling his opponents to oblivion. While Banario, also undefeated, tries to be the 4^th Lakay fighter to be the current champion in the URCC. Will this fight end in the 1^st round, as both fighters finished all of their opponents within that round?
This night will also feature the first interim match of the URCC as Bantamweight contenders Hideo "Death From Tokyo" Morikawa and Jessie "Finisher" Rafols fight for the topdog position as the current champion, Justin "Shocker" Cruz, takes a hiatus from fighting to focus on (another form of fighting) firefighting. Morikawa and Rafols has been very impressive and both undefeated (in this weight class), so it is just natural to make them fight to find out who truly is deserving of the title fight. Will Morikawa succumb to Rafols relentless attacks or will Rafols fall prey to the devastating knees of Morikawa?
Many fans feared this fighter will not be in the card after his original opponent got injured and bowed out of the fight. However, URCC knew MMA fans have been clamouring to see this champion in action. Once again, the Flyweight champion Kevin "Silencer" Belingon will fight in the ring as he is pitted in a Superfight against Davao's wonderboy in Isaac Tuling. Belingon's original opponent, Ryan "Lion" Diaz, had to bow out due to rib fracture and Tuling was brave enough (or crazy enough) to step in and give Belingon a good fight. Tuling, undefeated in both Davao Digmaan events, is set to upset the champion. Will Tuling have the strength and skillset to win against one of the most dominant champions of the URCC?
In the undercard, fans will be treated to a grudge match, both fighters swore will be to death (though this will not be allowed in the ring), as Bernard "Hitman" Soriano battles his former teammate and sparring partner Charles "El Tigre" De Tomas. Karl Rodriguez, the brother of former Light-Heavyweight Champion Fritz "Mandrill" Rodriguez, is debuting against former pro boxer-turned-MMA fighter Dowen "Rampage" Dela Tonga. Visayas Flyweight Champion Agustin "Demolisher" Delarmino is set to have a victorious debut in Manila against the always-game, Bruce Lee-looking Jilmar "Stone Cold" Tangayan of Davao. Andrew Benibe and Michael Dan Rubio will fight for significance in a deepening Featherweight division. Franz Altarejos and Red "Filipino Bolo Punch" Romero will look for a win after both came up short from their last fight. Deftac's Chris Luna is starting a MMA career and will be welcomed by a grisly veteran Frank Navarro.
Big names will collide. Who will leave unscathed and with pride intact?
Find out in Colt 45 URCC XIX: Collision on April 2 at the World Trade Center, Pasay City.
Tickets are priced at P 1,000, P 500, and P 250. For tickets, call TicketWorld at 891.9999 or visit selected Chris Sports and Tribal Gear outlets.
For more information, call 381.0940 or keep on logging on to www.urccmma.com.
Bakbakan na!!!Fight Card*:
Match 1 (Featherweight 140-149): Bernard "Hitman" Soriano vs. Charles "El Tigre" De Tomas
Match 2 (Featherweight 140-149): Karl Rodriguez vs. Dowen "Rampage" Dela Tonga
Match 3 (Flyweight 120-129): Agustin "Demolisher" Delarmino vs. Jilmar "Stone Cold" Tangayan
Match 4 (Featherweight 140-149): Andrew Bernibe vs. Michael Dan Rubio
Match 5 (Featherweight 140-149): Franz Altarejos vs. Red "Filipino Bolo Punch" Romero
Match 6 (Light-Heavyweight 180-189): Chris Luna vs. Frank Navarro
Match 7 Superfight (Catch weight 135): Isaac Tuling vs. Kevin "Silencer" Belingon
Match 8 - Interim Bantamweight Title Match (130-139): Jessie "Finisher" Rafols vs. Hideo "Death From Tokyo" Morikawa
Match 9 - Lightweight Title Match (150-159): Honorio "The Rock" Banario vs. Angelito "The Saint" Manguray
Main Event - Pinweight Title Match (110-119): Alvin "Sindikato" Ramirez vs. Roy "Punisher" Docyogen


  By: Alfred Johannes T. Gealogo