MMA: Honorio Banario - A champion's homecoming

On May 31, Honorio Banario will return to the Philippines for the first defense of his ONE FC featherweight title. Banario returned to little fanfare even after being the first Filipino to win a ONE FC title. Unlike returning boxing champions who are paraded through the streets of Manila with their title belts, Banario was barely noticed even with the hardware surrounding his waist.

But if you ask Banario, he does not mind. All he knows is that right now he is exactly where he wants to be.

“Kahit pagkatapos itaas yung kamay ko, hindi pa rin ako makapaniwalang champion na ako,” Banario said. “Parang ang bilis kasi ng mga pangyayari.

Banario isn’t kidding. Things really happened so fast. From a 20-year-old kid who first trained in mixed martial arts (MMA), it took him only three years to reach the top of his game.

This career was not in Banario’s plans. He studied Criminology at the Cordillera Career Development College as he looked to a career as a policeman. However, a required encounter with martial arts sent his career path into a tailspin.

“May subject kami na defense tactics,” Banario shared. “May mga nagtuturo sa amin ng muay thai, judo, wushu, at boxing.”

The Philippines is a country in love with boxing but Banario chose to delve more into wushu.

“Matagal umangat sa boxing e. Yung MMA naman, it’s the fastest growing sport in the world,” Banario said. “Pag pinag-igihan mo yung MMA mo, magkakaroon ka talaga ng livelihood.”

MMA rewarded Banario. In three years he achieved so much in MMA. The success he has right now is impossible to attain in boxing in those three short years. Another thing that could not have happened in boxing was Banario’s match with Eric Kelly.

In boxing, prospects are coddled. The best young boxers in the Philippines are never matched up against each other. The reasoning behind it is that a loss would hurt their chances of getting a title shot. The result is a lot of sub-par opponents for the country’s young boxers, which fails to toughen them up for the big fights.

In MMA, that problem does not exist. Banario had a record of seven wins and only one loss when he was given a shot at the ONE FC featherweight title. Kelly on the other hand had a pristine record of nine wins without a loss. But when they faced each other, Banario dominated. Now he is a better fighter because of it and chances are Kelly will be better too after absorbing his first loss.

“Trabaho ko iyon e. Hindi naman ito personalan,”  Banario shared. “Professional kami kaya kailangan naming gawin yun.”

Now, he’ll come home to the Philippines for his fourth stint in ONE FC’s cage. Banario will be taking on Japan’s Keji Oishi, a veteran fighter who has 23 wins and nine losses.

“May pressure syempre kasi dito sa Pilipinas ang laban,” Banario said. “Pero yung pressure sa akin ginagawa kong motivation. Gusto ko pang matuto sa jiu jitsu. Gusto ko pang palawakin yung kaalaman ko sa grappling pati na rin yung iba pang aspeto ng striking.”

“Sana ma-maintain ko yung title. Sana magtagal ang pagiging champion ko.” - AMD, GMA News