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| The Philippines will host a special MMA event in the middle of October. Ivan Saldajeno |
PASAY—URCC standouts Ef Sevilla and Arvin Chan are among the Filipinos who will compete in the first AMMA Manila Open from Oct. 14-16 at the Marriott Grand Ballroom here.
URCC president Alvin Aguilar, now the secretary general of the newly founded Nasyonal Mixed Martial Arts Pederasyon ng Pilipinas, helped make the event possible along with NMMAPP president Bambol Tolentino.
“I'm very honored and thankful to Mayor Abraham Tolentino, of course, our POC president. It's because of him that we have this right now. Now, all the mixed martial artists in the Philippines don't just have to go to the amateur and pro tournaments. Now, they can actually win medals and bring honor to our country,” Aguilar said during the press launch of the Manila Open on Wednesday also at the Marriott Hotel.
Rene Catalan Jr., the son of Philippine mixed martial arts legend Rene Catalan Sr., is also confirmed to be joining along with Annie Parungao, the first AMMA women's champion.
Ten fighters will represent the Philippines in this special MMA event.
Unlike the usual MMA fight night, the AMMA Manila Open will be divided into two categories, traditional and modern fights.
"In the traditional, you will see more grappling, so they will be wearing a traditional gi. Whereas, the modern is what the normal people actually see in the UFC and ONE Championship where they are just wearing shorts and then they fight," Galastein Tan, the sports director of Asian MMA, discussed the difference between the two.
Sevilla will fight in the traditional division, while Chan, Catalan Jr., and Parungaio will fight in the modern division.
A total of 11 weight divisions, six in the traditional and five in the modern, will be played in the three-day tournament.
Podium finishers will each get cash prizes.
The champions will receive $8,000 (nearly PHP446,000) each, the other finalists will receive $4,000 (almost PHP223,000) each, and the bronze medalists will win $2,000 (about PHP111,000) each.
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