Like a hungry wolf, Ruel Catalan of Catalan Fighting System quickly pounced on a hapless victim in Dipolog Top Team’s George Mascardo to post an overwhelming victory and rule the Casino Filipino (CF) Battle Extreme Tournament of Superstars (BETS) VII last Sept. 14 at the CF Manila Bay in Ermita, Manila.
Catalan, who successfully sprang from a disappointing defeat last February to score his seventh win in eight professional outings, delivered solid strikes from the get go as he easily submitted Mascardo in the 1:18 mark of the opening round. The setback was the third in Mascardo’s fighting career and dropped his win-loss record to 7-3.
In the co-main event, Mark Gregory Valerio of One Revolt MMA remained unblemished in seven matches when he prevailed over Mario Sismundo of Team Boss MMA via referee-stopped contest in the 3:56 mark of the second round.
A heavy right cross from Valerio opened a deep cut on Sismundo’s left eyebrow, which bled profusely, forcing the referee to halt the fight.
Metacore Elorde NAIA’s Norman Agcopra, likewise, put an abbreviated ending to his match against Farmon Gavarov of Korean Top Team/Top Gym BF by scoring a technical knockout victory over the latter in the 1:29 mark of the first round.
South Korean Hye Sun Kim of BK Wang Ho/Top Gym BF finally chalked his first professional win by prevailing over a favored opponent in Anne Kristelle Sabadlab of Mindanao Ultimate Mixed Martial Arts via rear naked choke in the 59th second of the first round.
Hye’s compatriot Won Il Kwon of Kwang Gym/Extreme Combat also scored a referee-stopped victory against Team RLAN’s Herbert Faurillo in the first round.
In other fights, Rick Lucena (Yawyan Fervilleon Matayog/Team Kampilan) grounded and pounded Reinier Gervacio in the second round to compel the referee to stop the match, while another referee-stopped contest was scored by Ariane Fantellanan (Catalan Fighting System) over JB Baldonasa (Team Hyper MMA) in the third round of their tiff.
Moises Ilogon (Subsport Ph), meanwhile, defeated Lorenzo Artillaga (Yawyan Kampilan) via rear naked choke in the second round.
In the opening match, Jervie Tiongco (Team Olongapo) triumphed by unanimous decision against Mike Paiz (Elorde) in a fight that lasted the distance.
“The fights were as good as advertised, and we hope to continue drawing the fancy of mixed martial arts fans in the coming CF BETS series by lining up more exciting matches bannered by victory-hungry ring gladiators,” said Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) Assistant VP for Entertainment Bong Quintana of the nine-fight card organized by CF in partnership with the Universal Reality Combat Championship (URCC) through Live Artists Production.
