Ateneo, La Salle extend rivalry in mixed martial arts

Ateneo and La Salle extend their rivalry in mixed martial arts competition when fighters from both schools meet on September 12 in the Colt 45 Universal Reality Combat Championship (URCC) University Challenge 2009 at the A. Venue Events Hall in Makati. "It's already a given that each time La Salle and Ateneo go out and play against each other, they (athletes) always give their 100 percent. They always fight for the bragging rights, so we expect an exciting tournament," said URCC founder and president Alvin Aguilar. Out to gate-crash the expected La Salle-Ateneo showdown are University of the Philippines, San Beda College and Mapua, which also boast of a pool of talented fighters. Aguilar, however, said that while the participants are students from various colleges and universities in Metro manila, they will not represent their schools in the competition but their respective clubs. "The sport is fast gaining popularity so we have a lot of members who are from big schools in the country. But they will fight for their respective clubs," said Aguilar. The fighters represent various MMA clubs like, DEFTAC, Hybrid Yaw-Yan, SPRAWL, Maic's Gym, Strikes & Submissions, D' Elements Gym etc. The University Challenge follows the professional MMA rules except that it has three five-minute rounds instead of the usual two 10-minute rounds. The fighters have to wear a headgear for protection. In case of a draw between two fighters, three judges will decide on the outcome. The URCC formed the University Challenge in the hopes of finding the next MMA star. For more details log on to www.urccmma.com. – GMANews.TV