URCC 25: Benibe defeats Transmonte for bantamweight title

 

Andrew Benibe turned Reysaldo Transmonte's face into a bloody mess with a series of punches late in the fifth round to force a technical knock out victory and claim the bantamweight title in the URCC 25: Takedown held Thursday at Mall of Asia Arena.

 

The card will be televised on GMA-7 on Sunday, October 26, at 10:40 p.m.

 

Benibe exacted revenge for his split decision loss against Transmonte in the title match of the URCC 24: Uprising last November, finishing strong despite getting dominated in the first four rounds.

 

"Every round kahit lamang siya or mas marami siyang damage na nagagawa, I still kept on fighting kasi wala akong balak umuwi nang talo e," said Benibe, who represents Benibe Mixed Martial Arts.

 

Benibe thought his opponent had the upper hand in the score cards, so he decided to go for the win in the fifth round. The referee stopped the match at 4:37 and declared Benibe the victor via TKO.

PHOTO GALLERY: Mayhem inside the cage in URCC 25: Takedown

 

"Kung meron split second or few seconds na kaya kong i-capitalize ginagawa ko. Regardless kung buong round binubugbog niya ako," he said.

 

With the win, Benibe improved his record to six wins and seven losses, while Transmonte dropped to five wins and three losses.

 

For his next fight, Benibe said he is interested to face former bantamweight champion Dave Galera, who won the title in the URCC: Unrivaled in 2013.

 

Meanwhile, Chris Hoffman and Caloy Baduria also triumphed via technical knockouts in the supporting bouts.

 

DEFTAC's Hoffman struck an elbow to Nickson Kola's face then followed up with a strong right hook to the jaw to send the debuting fighter staggering to the ground.

 

Hoffman was declared the winner only a minute into the match as the badly shaken Kola had to be heavily supported in order to stand and walk out of the cage.

 

Baduria of Elorde MMA also made quick work of Mark Palomar in a predominantly fist fight match, weathering strong blows and countered with a series of his own deadly punches to knock down the Lomibao Hyper MMA fighter at 3:59 in the first round.

 

Six other fights were held before the major battles started, with Carlo Laurel of Ronin Brazilian Jiu-jitsu opening the night with an impressive victory via a triangle choke submission in the first round against Fight Corps's Myler Empil.

 

DEFTAC's Alvin Solinap also won via submission against Arnel Lomibao with a rear naked choke in the second round.

 

Japanese fighter Hideo Morikawa of Team Zendokai spoiled Ryan Jakiri's debut skirmish with a strong comeback in the second round. Jakiri dominated in the first round and damaged Morikawa's face with a huge black eye with a kick to the face, but the Japanese countered with a sharp elbow to the head and pinned the neophyte on the ground where he was at the mercy of his fist for a TKO victory.

PHOTO GALLERY: Mayhem inside the cage in URCC 25: Takedown

 

Alvin Ramirez of Yaw Yan Buhawi also finished with a TKO, dominating Jessie Del Valle of Beefit Pythons Gym in the first round and then hitting his face with the swing of the arm in the second which forced the referee to stop the fight.

 

Drex Zamboanga of Touch Guys International and Submission Sports' Miguel Mosquera won via separate unanimous decisions against Joseph Mercado, also of Submission Sports, and the veteran Angelito Manguray of Alterado Extreme Combat, respectively.

 

The URCC 25: Takedown is the first event of the Universal Reality Combat Championship to hold fights inside a cage, the usual standard for international bouts. Previously, matches were held in a boxing ring. — JST, GMA News