By Ivan Saldajeno
QUEZON CITY--Keremuaili Maimaitituohati played Juan Manuel Marquez to Manny Pacquiao doppelganger Mario Sismundo in the co-main event of WSOF-GC 3 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Saturday via a second round stoppage.
The Chinese fighter came in five pounds lighter than the instant fan favorite, but it hardly mattered as he successfully made a rear naked choke submission, further exploiting the Filipino MMA fighters' vulnerability in the ground game.
Sismundo, whose last fight at UGB 14 last January ended with a one-punch knockout win, delivered Pacquiao-like strikes to Maimaitituohati early in the first round, but the latter recovered, took the former down, and even got an armbar only that the former barely escaped the submission threat.
Sismundo again appeared to be dominant in the early goings of the second period, but Maimaitituohati again scored a takedown on Sismundo only that this time, the Filipino fighter could not evade it, eventually leading to the deciding RNC that ended the match with two minutes left in the round and put the home country crowd in silence.
The 25-year-old Chinese pug improved to 6-3, while the 37-year-old MMA upstart dropped to 3-2.
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