Let's start the new year with a bang!
Yes, Filipino MMA fans, we have every reason to celebrate this year as fight Gods looked upon our very own Pinoy fighters and gave six (6) championship titles.
That’s right! Six Pinoy MMA fighters started this year each holding world titles in their respective weight classes. Let's start with the heaviest weight class!
Last Nov. 23, 2018, Brandon “The Truth” Vera successfully defended his ONE Heavyweight title for the second time. And this time, he made sure the fight won't last long, knocking out Mauro Cerilli at 1:04 of the very first round to retain the ONE Heavyweight World Title!
In the same event, Edward "Landslide" Folayang reclaimed the vacant ONE Championship Lightweight title, beating Amir Khan in five grueling rounds. But unlike Vera's win, Folayang's wasn't as easy.
Last Nov. 9 at ONE: Heart of the Lion, Kevin "The Silencer" Belingon defeated Bibiano Fernandes, earning for himself the right to be called the new ruler of ONE Bantamweight division.
At ONE: Conquest of Heroes, Joshua “Passion” Pacio, a kickboxing practitioner and a Wushu National Champion, reached his dream of becoming a world MMA champion. After five nerve-wracking rounds of non-stop pounding, Pacio defeated defending champion Yoshitaka Naito for ONE Championship Strawweight title.
Another kickboxing practitioner and Wushu National Champion, Geje “Gravity” Eustaquio bagged the Interim ONE Flyweight Championship title against Kairat Akhmetov at ONE: Global Superheroes back. But Eustaquio solidified his hold at ONE Championship Flyweight title in June, defeating two-time ONE Flyweight champion Adriano Moraes at ONE: Pinnacle of Power.
ONE Championship is not the only source of championship titles for our Filipino MMA fighters. Mark Stephen Loman can attest to that as he retains his Brave FC World Bantamweight championship title, defending it twice last year against Frans Mlambo and Felipe Efrain.
